Eywa's stepchildren
by JediKnightMarina55
Summary: Year 2166. As RDA comes back to Pandora, two FBI agents disguise themselves as Marines to arrest Parker Selfridge. Meanwhile, another, hidden, menace, is hiding behind RDA. Will the People and the humans be able to face it? Rated T for language
1. Prologue: David's story

_**I started writing this fanfiction in Italian, on an Italian website. Then I decided to make a translation to see how good could it be in English. As you can understand, English is not my native language, so please don't kill me if I made some mistakes. Anyway, make me know about them in your reviews, if you correct my mistakes I can only write better ^-^**_

_**Disclaimer:**_

_**I don't own Avatar. But I really thank James Cameron for giving to us such a masterpiece.**_

_**I do own David Locke, Serge Giles, Alicia Nevares, Annemarie Hooper, Peter the foundling, Gabriel John Locke, Helena Wendy Locke, Austin Paul Giles, Newton Higgins, and the brothers Tom and Michael.**_

The sky of Pandora was quite different from the sky under which David Locke had grown up. He could see the stars now, even without his childhood's telescope.

He had always been a curious kid, always looking for the answer behind the facts, for the secret beyond the borders.

His childhood friend Tyler was used to call him nerd. But he had not been just a "nerd". He just had been curious. His curiosity had granted him top marks at school, and it had been nearly natural that, some years later, he had been taken into the Avatar Program.

And the adventure had begun. He had moved from his birthplace, Newbridge, in Ireland, to the USA. He had met new friends, among which his current best friend, Serge Giles, and his girlfriend Alicia Nevarez. He had lost the touch with his three siblings for many years. And he had been shipped off to Pandora.

When Grace Augustine had been killed, he had been one of the first people who found it out. He had led an uprising along with Dr. Max Patel, Serge and Alicia. Serge's girlfriend, Annemarie Hooper, had escaped Hell's Gate with her avatar and, as a doctor, she had saved the lives of many of the People, plus two avatar drivers who were fighting alongside them.

He had found a son in a Na'vi foundling whom no one in the Omaticaya had recognized. There were rumours he was the son of a Tipani guest who had spent the night there, but they were just rumours, and anyway no one had reclaimed the kid.

To cap it all, the apparently three-years-old boy had started following David's avatar everywhere and calling him "Sempu". There had been no other option than accept David in the Omaticaya clan and help him out with his stepson. David had called him Peter, like the lost child, Peter Pan, he had read about in his primary school years.

And Pandora could be called a decent Neverland. It was their paradise lost. The world the humans could still have had on Earth... if they just had looked for responsibility and not for carbon, oil and unobtanium.

He would have passed through Eywa's eye if, the day before the scheduled ceremony, Alicia would not have had wonderful news.

Two wonderful news, both with name, surname and middle name.

_- Eleven years later -_

The tiny light of a webcam lit a small room with two bunk beds and some cardboard boxes in it. A child's voice broke the silence.

"Hello there, I'm Gabriel John Locke, and I'm in room number nine, third floor, in Sky City Colony, former Hell's Gate, Pandora. My room mate... my da... is on a video log in the lab. It's midnight and it's all right... apparently"

In front of a laptop computer there was a kid, a rather grown up kid, grey eyes behind a pair of scrap-made glasses, and straw-colored hair cut quite short.

"According to Earth calendar, today is the 26th November of 2165. I'm ten years and three months old and I'm one of the few human kids living here. I know there are many Na'vi kids but I still haven't seen any. I haven't even seen my own brother... I mean stepbrother. But who cares? He's my bro anyway. Even if he's tall and blue and has a tail. We both call "dad" Doctor David Locke, so we're brothers. Fullstop."

"Hi there, Gabriel" said a ginger-haired man entering the room. He looked a bit shaggy, but he smiled.

"Speaking about the devil. Hi there, Da. How's Peter?"

"He's all right. He greets you and Helena. And he's starting the tasks to become a hunter"

"I would like to get to know Peter. I mean, better than Da's tales. I don't even know what his voice sounds like... I bet it has already started to change. He's no kid anymore. And anyway, an elder brother would be better than a twin sister. Helena is unbearable, and the other kids at the Colony just mock me because of the specs and the freckles"

"Austin doesn't" punctualized David

"Yep, I know, Da, but he never plays with me anyway. If he did, they'd mock him too"

"You and Austin are just quite different from the other kids, but that doesn't mean you're freaks. You are just near-sighted. Austin is just black. But you are both kids"

"Yeah, go and tell it Newt, he _always does_ listen. He just keeps Austin because he's a foot taller than him!"

David looked at his own son with shame in his eyes.

Maybe staying on Pandora had not been the right thing to do, as Alicia had said. Maybe Gabriel would have been a better person if he had been brought up in Newbridge, along with his cousins, if he had attended his same school, if he had not been in clothes too large for him, and had had _proper_ glasses instead of a piece of iron wire assembled with two pieces of glass and some patches.

Maybe he would not have been such a lonely boy. He was the oldest boy in the Sky City Colony, but he was easily mocked because of his shyness. And the age gap wasn't really the best thing to get along. Some of the kids were just one or two years younger, but most of them were born more than three years after him.

The video logs he made were a positive thing, as it was the fact he kept in touch, using an old program called Skype, with his cousin Danny in Newbridge, but David hadn't discarded yet the idea to let him have a video conversation with a psychologist.

Peter had suggested to take him to the new Hometree sometimes, but _that_ idea was no good. The road was too difficult and dangerous for a ten-years-old, or at least for a human ten-years-old. And Peter could not come to the Colony to talk to his "little brother" because, now he was no little boy anymore, his duties and tasks had largely reduced his free time.

"Gabriel, do you mind if I...?" asked David opening the door again

"I don't" answered Gabriel without even turning "I'm going to bed, see you tomorrow morning… if you still are here"

David went out of his room and rushed to the link room. He got in one of the links, and he woke up in his hammock, just a few feet away from a snoring Peter.

"Peter? Pete? Hey, wake up, son!"

Peter got up groaning and looked daggers at him. He surely was not happy at all with being awaken in the middle of the night. Maybe he was even having a nice dream…

"Sempu, shouldn't you be with Gabriel and Helena?"

"Just wanted to talk"

"It's the middle of the night! I was sleeping!"

"Well, I couldn't wait for tomorrow. You are always around with your friends and your duties and… well, let's just say you wouldn't pay attention"

"I wanna sleep!" yawned Peter

"Alright, the sooner we end this, the sooner you go back to sleep"

"Now, what's the matter? Let's try to end this before someone else wakes up and blames me for the noise"

"Okay" said David "In your opinion… am I a good father?"

"And you need my opinion?"

David didn't answer.

"It's about Gabriel… isn't it?" asked Peter with his rare 'wise look', which, now he was turning into an adult, showed more often "Why don't you take him here sometimes? I'm sure he and Tom would be good friends"

Tom was one of the three Omaticaya kids who had a "human" name. The first, obviously, was Peter. Tom, ten years and two months old, was the second. And his two-years-old brother Michael was the third. David still didn't know why Jake had called his youngest son Michael. Tom was easy to understand, because it was the name of Jake's dead twin brother, but Michael... well, Michael was quite a common name, but no one in Jake's family had been called like that.

Norm, who was used to call the toddler "Tyke", had guessed that the little one's namesake was surely someone from Jake's past, but he had never asked who he was.

"Take Gabriel here? It's too dangerous... there's too much in the forest for a kid to cross it! I mean, Gabriel is not weak, he can defend himself, but only against an opponent as big as he is!"  
"Can't someone take him?"

"Who?"

"Dunno. Maybe Norm. It wouldn't be bad for Gabriel to attend the school here, if at the Colony school they keep him at distance"  
"It's a road too long to do it everyday"  
"If you continue worrying like that for him and keeping him locked up, his room will be his only world. And I'd feel jailed, in such a world. If I were him, I'd run. And if he runs... he'll be outside alone, without help, without a guide. He'll get in trouble before you can say _nantang_!"


	2. Playing hookey

_**So, this is Chapter 1. It's been harder to translate also because I decided to insert something in it (in the Italian version, Tom's joke, the hangar scene, and the avatar drivers' meeting just don't exist, even if there were hints in the following chapters)**_

_**Now, you will surely notice there are some bold and/or italic lines in this chapter. So, just to be safe:**_

_Thoughts_

"English speech"

"**Na'vi speech" **(if the character whose POV is being used doesn't understand Na'vi, or is speaking single words in an English sentence, I'm using the real words)

* * *

Chapter 1

Playing hookey

_(Tom's POV)_

Tom moved away a branch and stepped in a muddy pool. That was one of his "totally wrong days". One of those days when he didn't care about nothing. About no one. He was sick and tired of going to school (what was the use of that? He spoke English even better than some of the Dreamwalkers!), of his brother Michael who kept chewing all of his stuff (Norm was right to call him Tyke, there could be no better nickname for such a prankster) and of _rules_.

He was sick and tired of everything.

It was one of those days when he got his slingshot (he was far too young to wander around with a bow of his own), he cleaned it up if his brother had been chewing it, and he passed his time throwing stones on dead trees and old Sky People wreckages.

He aimed at a rotten tree branch, pulled the stone and released. There was a loud noise and a dent in the wood.

He threw one more stone. And another one. And then he stopped. He heard a noise.

He quickly climbed up the nearest tree and sat on a branch. He was _not alone_, and that someone who was stepping on the moss could have been anyone. Even his brother, considering that the noise was quite faint, thus excluding someone of his age or older.

And it was no animal. Surely the thing had two feet.

He could not stand for someone to discover his secret place. He had to protect his hideout! And if it really was Michael, what if he told Mom? He could not be seen again playing hookey, it would have been his death!

"Hello? Is there someone here? Please... I've been out all night!"

It was _English_! No one usually spoke English out of the school, apart from Daddy, Michael and the Dreamwalkers when they weren't talking to someone else... and that was the voice of a kid!

He jumped down to the ground, to find himself in front of someone who was half his size, with a mask on his face and something under it, clothes too big for him, grey eyes and yellowish hair.

Was he a Sky Person? And what was he doing in a place like that?

"Are you a child?" asked the short kid

"Of course I am! What did you think I was?"

Then he remembered Daddy saying that an adult Sky Person was as tall as he was. So, the Sky Kid's size for him was normal, and his size wasn't.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think about stature" said the kid holding out his hand "My name's Gabriel John Locke, but you can call me just Gabriel"

"You got five fingers? You're like the Dre..."

"Hey, gangling, five fingers is _normal_. And anyway, you seem to have five fingers, too"

"My mom has four. Nearly everyone has four fingers, where I live. My dad, my brother and I have five, and then there are the Dreamwalkers and Barbara who all have five fingers. So, five fingers is _strange_"

"If someone has four fingers where I live, it means he has lost one" said Gabriel "A kid, Rick, got his hand crushed under a crate while he was on a courage task. Now he has three fingers and a half on his left hand and five on the other"

"That must hurt"

"Yeah"

"Once, one of the Dreamwalkers, David, got his tail under a..."

"Hang on a sec, David's my father's name!"

"Your father...?"

He looked at that Gabriel kid, ducking to see his face. And he did look like David. Not just some of the traits... also his expression, his posture... he could have been...

"Thought he just had a stepson" said rising up again

"Who, Peter? No, he also has me and my sis. Do you know Peter?"

"Oh, shut up asking questions, shortie!"

"My name is _Gabriel_, you gangling!"

"Stop calling me like that! My name is Tom. T-O-M. Understand?"

"At last!" said Gabriel breathing loudly "You know, you're supposed to introduce yourself if someone introduces himself to you. Nice to meet ya, anyway. You seem nicer than the kids at the Colony. How old are you?"

"I'm ten"

"Me too!"

"You seem younger"

"That's because I look short to you. There's a kid at the Colony, Austin, who's nine years old and he's a foot taller than me!"

"Why do you have scabs behind your ears?"

"The specs. I can't see a damn thing without, but they just keep going up and down and I get bruises because of it"

"That must be bothering" commented Tom sitting on a root and waiting for Gabriel to do the same

"It is, but it's better than to see just a blur" answered Gabriel sitting near him, just on a higher point of the root "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"I said you I have a brother. He's called Michael, he's two years old and he just keeps chewing everything he can reach"

"_That_ must be bothering. Any friends?"

"Well, not exactly. They keep mocking me 'cause I'm a "nerd". They nearly forgot my very name. That's why I don't like being called names. But you had a point, anyway. You didn't know who I was, so... sorry"

"They call you nerd? So you go to school"

"Er... I... played hookey today. Just don't tell anyone"

"Don't mind it, I played hookey too. My mom and dad will hit the roof if they find me"

"My parents will do even worse. My dad's _olo'eyktan_ and my mom's _tsahik_, so if I do something bad, it's going to sully their reputation. And that's what Norm would call a pun"

"Why a pun?"

"My dad was one of the Dreamwalkers once. Norm said his last name was Sully"

Gabriel started roaring with laughter, nearly falling of the root.

"Ha... ha... sully their reputation! That's fun, budd... I mean, Tom"

"Wait..." said Tom lowering his voice. He had heard someone speaking "Hide! It's my dad!"

"Speaking about the devil..." murmured Gabriel hiding in a bush

Tom didn't ask Gabriel what a "devil" was as he followed Gabriel in the bush just because he didn't want to be found.

_This time I'm dead,_ Tom thought_, This time I'm __**really**__ doomed._

Dad was getting too close to their hideout when someone else arrived. It was, ironically, the very Peter the Gabriel kid had claimed his brother.

_Yeah! You rock, Peter! Now, please, start chatting with my daddy and taake hiim awaay… so I can sneak to school and I won't be punished!_

"**A kid from the Colony's gone**" was saying Peter

"**When?**"

"**Last night, when everyone was asleep**"

"**All right, don't panic. In this part of the year most of the animals don't go out of their caves so often. If he went this direction, we'll find him soon. He is not a problem, cause he surely doesn't know how to hide**"

"**What's the problem, then?**"

"**Tom's gone **_**again**_"

"**Just last night I was saying my father that Gabriel and Tom would be good friends! And now… both of them gone!**"

Dad smiled, but turned serious again in a moment. Turning carefully to see what Gabriel was doing, Tom found him grinning. He was on the run, too.

And Peter was surely right about them becoming friends: even if Gabriel was really short, he was a kid of his age anyway, and a nice guy too. Or at least he was nicer than Ateyo or Wir'em…

"**Wish I knew Gabriel. I'd know where he's gone. Or I would recognize his voice… well, do you realize I don't even know what does he look like?**"

"**And how can you hope to find him?**"

"**Well, I was heading to school to ask Norm to help me… and then I found you. By the way, if we find Tom together maybe **_**he**_** has seen something**"

They were getting far from their hideout, obviously they had no clue of where to look for. Great. Now they just had to sneak to a safer hideout… and then? Even if Tom could get into the school and pretend he had been somewhere around to help Mummy, he could not let Gabriel alone. He was as tall as a toddler and he had even got lost!

Daddy and Peter were nearly gone when Gabriel started making a strange noise. He quickly got out of the bush and took him out. His mask-thing had dropped, and the strange "specs" he wore under it had a broken wire which had made a deep cut on his face.

"What's wrong now?" he asked his friend "Can't you put it back on?"

Gabriel shook his head, without stopping the noise.

"All right, stay here, calm down, I'll call for help"

He started running and shouting in the direction where Dad and Peter were, and stopped only when he had reached them.

"Dad, you got to come! There's a boy over there, he's had an accident, he can't breathe!" he said

"**What? A boy?**" asked Peter "**Where is he?**"

"**Right there**" pointed Tom

Without the time to say "run", Peter had rushed where Gabriel was, had taken away his specs-thing and had helped him wearing the mask again.

"Just put them somewhere so you can't lose them" said then handing him the broken specs "Maybe someone can fix them"

"I am in trouble, aren't I?" asked Gabriel

"You surely are, but you will be in even more if you don't get home now"

"Yeah, but without these…"

"I know. You can't see well beyond your nose. Can you?"

"I can't. How do you know?"

"Well, you are my brother. If I didn't know that, what sort of eldest would I be?"

"Well, nice to meet you, Peter. I really hoped to say "I see you" but that would not be the truth at all"

Peter chuckled.

"Okay, little one, I'm taking you home. And this time… try not to run again" said Peter lifting him up and making him sit on his shoulders "Sempu was really scared when he didn't find you in your bed"

They went away. Tom kept looking at them until they were gone.

"Why can't he see properly without that stuff?" he asked Dad

"Well, it's a… well, error. You know, everyone has their… we could call code… in a thing called DNA. In Gabriel's there is an error about his eyes. Kind of a flaw. The Sky People call it "near-sightedness". So he has to wear glasses"

"That's a curse…"

"Yeah, but many Sky People are just able to live with it without many problems. The real problems are worse, really worse. There are kids who can't see at all… and errors don't always come with DNA. There can also be accidents…"

"Accidents? What kind of accidents?"

"Well, I'll tell you when you grow up a bit. It's not a thing easy to understand, for a boy of your age"

"Why?"

"On Earth, accidents aren't always accidents. Someone does it on purpose"

"And what's the use of that? Why would someone harm someone else?"

Tom looked at his right hand. Five fingers, like the Sky People. What kind of race was that?

A race with a lot of problems like poor sight, but able to make something to live with it.

What were the "accidents-not-accidents" which Dad was talking about? What did it mean?

"It's a shame Gabriel's like that. We could have been friends" he resolved

"Did you find him?"

"Well, he found me. Seemed like he kept wandering in circle for a while"

"Let's get back home, we'll talk about this later"

Tom snorted, obtaining only a heavy slap on the back of his head.

"You should have been at school, if you didn't want to get into trouble"

"Yeah, and what if Gabriel was alone when he broke his specs?" he replied cheekily "Maybe Eywa wanted me to save him"

"We'll square things up at home, this afternoon. And the fact you came to call for help is a good thing, but that doesn't mean you aren't in trouble"

"But Dad…"

* * *

_(Gabriel's POV)_

"Why did you run from the base? You knew you could have died!" said Peter putting Gabriel on the ground and pushing him to go forward

"Mind your own business"

"What did you say?"

"I said mind your own business. It's a problem of mine, not yours. And don't push me, I can walk on my own"

The cut on his right temple hurt like hell, especially because it was right under the exopack and he couldn't reach it. He said himself he had to consider himself lucky the broken wire had not hit his eye, but he wasn't lucky at all.

His escape attempt had failed.

"We are family, Gabriel. Your problems are mine too"

"Da doesn't think like you. He's never there for me"

"Well, he has his own problems, too. And what about Mother?"

"Since Da and her argued, she doesn't help him anymore. And, given that I'm nearly always with Da, she doesn't usually mind me"

"Da and her argued?"

"Yeah. Didn't you know about this? Mum wants to go home. On Earth. Taking me and Helena with her. She always says we shouldn't have stayed"

"Go away…? And would you…?"

He seemed really worried. Gabriel could see his concern even without the glasses.

"You don't have to worry, anyway" he said grinning "There are no spaceships. We could never do it. No one could ever do it. And I don't think the Sky People… the _real_ Sky People… will ever come back. On the other side, I would never get away from here, even if I could. This is my birthplace. I'm not one of them"

Peter patted him on the head.

"Come on, let's go"

Gabriel wished he had his glasses, just to see his brother's face. Two steps beyond him, the world was surrounded by fog. He needed Peter to go on.

He could hardly see his shoes, the only thing he had which wasn't too large for him. At the colony, all the smallest clothes were kept for the younger children, surely not for the oldest ones, who had to get by with what they had hoping to grow up quickly. He wore a sky blue t-shirt tucked in his pants to hide the fact it was way too big, his pants had been cut at the bottom to prevent him from tripping, and he kept them in place with a piece of rope, and his coat's sleeves were rolled up at least four times (and the very coat once had been a shirt).

The shoes were just some pieces of leather and cloth sewn together, and they had been made on purpose for him, like for all the other kids. Austin, who had longer feet, had found himself at ease with an old pair of trainers left there by someone who had gone back to Earth after the war. Gabriel had never had a "real" pair of shoes, so he didn't know the difference, but he had noticed that he had a sole harder than his father's. Maybe in some years he would have been able to walk barefoot.

"I said it would have happened" was saying Peter "And Sempu just kept you stuck there, talking about say-clogists…"

"Psychologists" Gabriel corrected him

"Whatever. Who are they?"

"Dunno. But I don't like how it sounds. And I'm afraid that now he'll make me talk to one of them…"

"I'll talk to him" said Peter in a sympathetic voice "Don't worry, I'll make him change his mind. He just can't let you stay in your room and talk to these psy-people"

"Yeah, but what if I go out and I break my glasses again?"

"Can't the doctors do something?"

"They would, if they had the tools"

"It must be really bothering"

"Not as you think… well, I got a bit of bruises behind my ears, but I got used to it since I was eight. The real problem is when they break"

* * *

_(Tom's POV)_

Tom sat on his desk, near his classmate Ateyo. He had not thought Dad would take him back to school. Usually, when he played hookey, he was taken home and he had to face Mummy. And _that_ was bad.

Norm, the teacher, was outside the room, probably talking to Dad.

"**Do you think they'll punish you?**" murmured Ateyo

"**Shut up and leave me alone**" replied Tom. Ateyo was one of the few in the class who did not call him nerd, but he was a pain in the ass, and asked always for a hint when Norm was asking something to the class.

"Sorry for the interruption, kids" said Norm entering the class "So, Thomas…"

Tom felt everyone looking at him. He just wanted to disappear.

"Can you tell us what happened in the forest? Stand up"

"Well" started Tom "I was playing in the forest. I hear a noise, and I meet this Gabriel boy. We introduced each other, we started chatting… and then, he has to wear a thing called specs because he doesn't see well, these specs got broken and his mask fell. Then I called for help and now he's going home"

"What are specs?" asked Ateyo

"I said it!" replied Tom sitting down

"**Did you really save him?**"

"**No. Peter did**"

"All right, let's go on with the classes" said Norm smiling "Tom, what you did today is a good thing, but that doesn't justify your escape. I know you're a good student, but I can't pretend this playing hookey fact is nothing. Next time, you won't get away with it"

"**Well, it was not so bad. You got away with it this time, my friend**" said Ateyo grinning

"**I am no friend of yours!**"

* * *

_(David's POV)_

The old hangar bay was full of people, all nervous. David had just received from Jake the news that Gabriel had been found, and he had quickly found Alicia in the hallways and told her to follow him.

They had also met Austin, Serge's only child, who has looking in a worried way at the Avatar Compound door. He, too, was kind of a lonely boy, but he was quite accepted in team games because of his long legs.

He had explained he was worried for Gabriel, because maybe it was his fault, too, if he had escaped. They were on the same boat and he had left him alone.

In a while, in the hangar bay had arrived even Bruno Schopenhauer, the man who acted as a teacher to the older kids, and the whole class, including Helena. Bruno had scolded Austin because he was out of the class.

The air lock door opened with a _hiss_, and Gabriel entered the room, followed by no less than Peter.

"You see? They were waiting for you!" was saying Peter

"Gabriel!" shouted Helena, hugging her twin "We thought you… you…"

"I'm all right, sis, just get off!" replied Gabriel trying to take off his exopack "So… Helena, this is Peter. Peter, she's Helena. Our sister"

"I see you, Pete" said Helena holding out a hand

"All's well that ends well" commented Austin crossing his arms "Not too well for me, indeed"

"What's _that_?" asked Newton grimacing "Boy, it's an…"

"Don't say that, Newt!" David interrupted him "_Don't say that_"

"But he's right!" replied Andreas, Bruno's son "They can't be siblings. It's scientifically impossible!"

"Andreas! Shut up with it! You'll hurt people's feelings!" scolded Bruno "Now, kids, all back in class! Including you, Austin! Gabriel, Helena, you can still stay here for a while if you want"

"Okay" said Helena, while the other kids followed Bruno back in the hallways. Austin was the last. He quickly turned, waved to the twins, and ran to reach his classmates.

Peter looked at his feet, a sad look on his face. He surely had heard Newt and Andreas.

"Don't listen to them" said Gabriel to Peter "Don't give them a damn! If Da says you're part of the family, then you are!"

"Irayo. Thanks. But… nothing can change the way they think about me"

"They are just kids, son. They can't say what's wrong and what's right" said David walking forward to reach his _three_ children.

"Sempu? So this is the real you?" asked Peter with a hint of a smile

"There is no real me. There's just me" replied David as Peter sat down "I'm always the same man who decided to call you 'itan"

"Just shorter" commented Peter laughing

"All right, I am shorter. But that doesn't mean anything. By the way, Gabriel, are you okay?"

"My specs broke" said Gabriel holding them out "I got cut, but that's nothing"

"Don't do it again, son. You got all of us scared to death. Even Austin was worried!"

Alicia had not come forward, maybe she just felt a stranger. Maybe it was because of Peter.

"I'm sorry, Da. I really am. It's just… I don't like this place. I don't like being set aside. I thought that maybe out there was not that bad… and it wasn't. I got a friend!" said Gabriel. He looked like he was going to cry

"He met Tom, he was on the run, too" explained Peter

"Who's Tom, Da?" asked Helena "There's no one called Tom down here!"

"He's the olo'eyktan's eldest" explained Gabriel "He's ten like us"

"Tom's father once lived here. In the base" explained David "He was a soldier. A marine. Just like George"

"George Higgins? Newton and Laura's father?" asked Helena "So why is Newt such a pain in the ass and this Tom is a Na'vi?"

"Well, Newt's a basket case, we all know. It's not his father's fault. Laura's all right, you know it better than me" answered Gabriel "But I think that Tom's father had been chosen to be an avatar driver, that's the difference"

"Long story, kids. Now, the day is short, and Gabriel should be seen by the doc. And you, Helena, should be in class. Peter, I'll come back in a while. Wait for me at the Hometree"

"Alright, Sempu. And…" he stopped for a moment, looking at Alicia

"Mother… I see you"

* * *

_(Gabriel's POV)_

"Just stay still, Gabriel. I haven't done with that cut yet" said Annemarie while the only thing Gabriel wanted to do was jump off that bed and run into his room. That thing she was putting on his wound hurt worse than the wound itself.

Then Annemarie put a patch on the cut and walked away, holding in her hand a piece of bandage on which there was some blood. She put it in one of the machines in the room.

"What are you doing?" asked Gabriel rising up

"I'm just controlling if your blood has any infections"

"I have heard this sentence somewhere else" commented Gabriel jumping off the hospital bed

"Yeah, maybe you've seen too much Star Wars" said Da crossing his arms "No machine in here can do a medi-chlorian count"

"I do know there is no such thing as medi-chlorians" replied Gabriel "Wish there were anyway. So I could be a Jedi... and that would be just great. I would see without glasses, catch my breath for hours and jump from the first floor without getting hurt. It's just a bit strange... Austin once told me that on Pandora there are no viruses"

"Austin must be mistaken, I told him there were no flu viruses" said Annemarie blushing

"We got to go" said Da patting Gabriel on his shoulder "While Annemarie was checking on you, I fixed your glasses. Here you are" and he pulled out of a pocket Gabriel's glasses. The broken wire had been soldered.

"Thanks, Da. But what does "irayo" mean? It's always "thank you", isn't it?"

"It is"

"Well, I know a word now! When will Bruno start teaching the Na'vi language to us?"

"I think he'll start in a year. It's far too hard for a child to understand it properly. And... oh, hi there, Norm!"

A man had entered the room. He was tall, very slim and looked quite sloppy. He surely had not shaved for a long time.

"Hello, David. This must be the runaway student" said Norm "Well, it really seems I haven't been the only one with empty desks today"

"What do you mean?" Gabriel asked

"He's Tom's teacher" explained David

Gabriel chuckled.

"So, now, why don't you go in our room and wait for me over there? I have to talk to Peter, that Newt and Andreas business surely got him sad. Bye!"

"Bye, Da... just don't be gone for too long!"

* * *

_(David's POV)_

"Such a smart kid" commented Norm as Gabriel was out of the room "So, why did he run?"

"He's always set aside" said David sitting on the first chair he found "He just wanted to meet Peter, I think... and he found a friend in Thomas"

"So, that's just good" grinned Norm "Who was saying, just yesterday, that the colony kids don't like the People?"

"No, that's just bad. He could run again" replied David "And this time he made it only out of luck"

"Did I lose something?" asked Gerald getting out of a link bed. Gerald Digby was a neurologist who was mated to a Na'vi woman and had a toddler daughter. He kept staying at the Colony just because he would have been needed whether there would have been more avatar drivers. He was the only one who could have trained them properly.

"No, we have just begun" said Annemarie starting the polymerasis chain reaction on the DNA sample she had gotten from Gabriel's wound

"Serge's still missing, isn't he?" commented Gerald sitting near David "Shouldn't we talk to the other ones, too? Including Barbara, Lewis, Jake and Able?"

"Able won't care too much about it" said David

"I have to do some tests first, if you want to talk to them, you'll have to wait for me" replied Annemarie

"The old team got scattered" commented Norm "Who knows who will be the next..."

"I have a clue" answered Gerald chuckling

"Yeah, and what about you? You got a wife and a daughter out there" replied David

"And you? You got a son, Dave!"

"I've got two sons and a daughter, and the youngest ones are in here. I'll do it only when Gabriel and Helena will be old enough to understand"

"Hey there, what were we talking about?" interrupted Annemarie "Your kid, Dave. We must decide what to do with him"

"We could use that splicing virus Serge created, so he could breathe out there" started Norm, just to be stopped by the very Serge, who was getting out of the link

"No way, Norm! That thing has never been tested, not even on guinea pigs!"

"And what can we do? Well, it would be a great effort to make another avatar..."

"Not that much of an effort" replied Serge "If the driver is young, it's always easier. With those growth accelerators that have been used on our avatars, we would need just one year to make a new one reach the size and looks of an eleven-years-old Na'vi"

"Oh, yeah? And how do you know?" asked Gerald "On what have you calculated this?"

"It's my own business, Gerald. Just for you to know, if Annemarie and I will ever pass through the eye of Eywa, we don't want our son to be left on his own. So we did what we had to do"

"Hey, Serge, I thought it was_ your own business_"

"By the way, the best solution would be another avatar" said Serge pacing up and down the room "Just don't keep it hiding, we'll all move out there, sooner or later. And Gabriel is the oldest boy in the colony. We must begin to train him"

"Yeah, but how?" asked Gerald "We have no computers or simulators in here. It's all on Earth, in good old Parker's hands"

"We'll do it in a different way" answered Serge "We can always make him climb the artificial walls, or a rope, or a pole. The only thing he needs is having his mind trained. And, obviously, we must make sure he does not feel dizzy or scared when he's six feet tall. An adult man may get used to it more quicky, but a child of his age… I really don't know"

"I've got a plan for that. Is there still some lumber in the old store?" said Norm

"You need to ask Bruno. He has the keys" replied Annemarie

Gerald stood up and walked to the center of the room

"So we have a deal, haven't we?"

"We have" resolved David "but we got to talk to Jake and the others before it's done. Let's go"

* * *

_**And chapter one is done!**_

_**Thanks a lot to Chocochino11 for her review, it really made me happy =)**_

_**From next chapter**_

"_**Who's over there?"**_

"_**Another boy. A boy who just called you **__**moron"**_

"_**You're lying. We're all in here!"**_

"_**We are not the only children on Pandora"**_


	3. Sour Grapes

_**Chapter 2 up! And… yikes, the story is getting more and more different from the Italian original! Well, I could just say it's not the same anymore… but anyway, it's better like this.**__** One day I'll surely rewrite the Italian version!**_

_**Topkat90, thanks for your review! Do you know I have a **__**younger sister, too? And she, too, makes my life interesting. But she looks quite like Trudy Chacon! (if she puts her sunglasses on)**_

Chapter 2

Sour grapes

On Pandora, no one knew why the humans still used the Earth calendar, for example, for the birthdays, or some more important days. The kids, anyway, were quite happy with it, because it meant there were "Saturdays" and "Sundays" in which there was no school and they could spend all day playing basketball, soccer or any other game.

In days like that, Gabriel usually spent all his time in his room, watching old movies, reading, and playing computer games. Da had been crazy about old video games before becoming an avatar driver, and had filled his laptop with games like "Assassin's Creed", "The Force Unleashed", and "Guitar Hero".

Gabriel's favourite was The Force Unleashed II. He could spend even days playing it.

No one usually called him to play in the old hangar, but sometimes he just stayed there, hoping for someone to get a strain to be called in that masonic lodge.

The boys in the Colony, or at least the oldest boys, were seven. When they had to play, he was always the last one to be chosen. So he had to stay on the "bench" and wait. That was why he preferred staying in his room.

Sometimes Helena arrived with another ball and asked him if he wanted to play one-to-one soccer with her. She quite good at it, too, but Gabriel always asked her if they could play in another room so Newt could not say that he was easily beaten up by a girl.

Helena often said that Newt didn't let her play because _he_ was afraid to be beaten by a girl. Gabriel just didn't care who won and who lost. He just wanted to have some fun.

An air lock door, the very door from which Gabriel had escaped and Peter had led him back in, led to an old landing platform, totally invaded by Pandora's green. When Peter had arrived there, some days before, he had said that Eywa had taken back what was hers.

Gabriel decided to get close to the door and watch the green beyond the plexiglas panel. Anyway, Newt would never, and ever, call him to play, and Helena was skipping a rope with Laura.

"Hey there, shortie? Are you better?"

"Mind your own words, before… Tom!" replied Gabriel getting closer to the door "How did you get here?"

"Peter told me how to"

"Sorry for the scolding. I thought it was one of them"

"Them?" asked Tom pointing at the six boys playing soccer "Do they tease you? Just tell me who it is and I'll teach him a lesson!"

"I don't think your father would be happy about that. And anyway, they'd tease you too, they didn't stop even in front of Peter!"

"Yeah, he told me"

"Some of them are basket cases" commented Gabriel "But one of them is O.K., luckily. Just, he's set aside, too. If he was not so tall, he'd be in my very situation"

"Is he that one who just looks like he fell into mud?"

"He didn't fall into mud. He's… well, like that. Since he was born. I think it's because his father's like that, too"

"Oh, yeah, the DNA-thing"

While they were talking, two of the boys fell down while chasing the ball. One of them, Austin, got up easily, while the other one, Walter, was sitting on the ground, holding his ankle.

"Gabriel, in here! Walter can't keep on playing! Just shut up watching that door!" shouted Newt

"Do you want an answer?" asked Gabriel turning, with a grin on his face "You don't really care about me. Now, I don't really care about you. I'm not giving you a damn, you swollen head!"

"And why would you say no? Are you going to let your sissy kick your ass again? Or do you have an imaginary friend?" said Newt getting close

"Imaginary? Gabriel, just let me in so I can beat up this moron!" snarled Tom

"Who's over there?" asked Newt, making a step back

"Another boy. A boy who just called you moron" answered Gabriel stepping forward

"You're lying. We're all in here!"

Now Newt looked really scared. He had understood what Gabriel was saying, he just wanted to negate it

"We are not the only children on Pandora" said Gabriel emphasizing every word "So, you'd better go back to play with your own friends while I stay with mine, you double-faced funk!"

"Gabriel, please, just stop kidding. I will let you always play"

It was a pleasing thing, seeing Newt scared. And the idea of playing always was even better. But things weren't right that way. Tom had surely grazed his feet to get there, while Newt would never have been his friend, if not out of fear.

"I'm not kidding, Newt. And I'm going out"

He spotted his sister in a corner of the room.

"Hey, Helena? Can I borrow your ball?"

"All right, you get it"

Gabriel turned to Tom.

"Want to come in, or are you waiting for me out there?"

"What do you mean? Are you coming here? And what about your specs?"

"I'll take them off before I get out. I can play even without them"

"Can you?"

"Yeah. I can't wander around without glasses, but that's because I'd get lost"

"You _did_ get lost even with your glasses on"

"That's because I didn't know the place. I'll get the ball, I'll be back soon"

"Hey, hey, don't leave us alone with him!" said Newt going to the wall

"You coward" said Austin walking to the air lock door. He stopped in front of the door and smiled.

"Your name is Tom, isn't it? I'm Austin Paul Giles"

"Nice to meet you" said Tom grinning "Are you Gabriel's friend?"

"I'm trying" said Austin raising his shoulders

"How old are you? Eleven?"

"Nine"

"Yeah, he's quite tall for his age" commented Gabriel

Newt grimaced and crossed his arms.

"Now, will you end this conversation and get away from here?"

"Yeah, Tom, let's get away from here. I would never leave you alone with such a _freak_…" said Austin putting on an exopack "Gabriel, do you know where is the Avatar Compound door? The one used by the scientists?"

"Well, kind of. If I can't find it I'll ask someone"

"All right, we'll meet out there. You two just wait!"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"I don't think it's a good idea. As I see it, we should send a distress message down there on Earth and ask for a lift back home. The situation's just getting worse and worse every day"

"You're as pessimist as your namesake, _Schopenhauer_. Just like him. And by the way, they would not come here just for us. They would restart mining unobtanium. Do you want this to happen? We stayed here because we protected this paradise!"

Norm and Bruno were in the colony's classroom, the very place in which once Miles Quaritch had had his speeches about Pandora. It had been a place in which hate had been taught. Now it was a place of knowledge. Real knowledge.

A holoprojector was the blackboard, and some desks taken from the abandoned offices were the students' desks. On some desks there were still some sheets left there the day before. Bruno took one of them and showed it to Norm. There were some rather offensive sentences written on it.

"See this, Norm? See _this_? Newton Higgins wrote these words. Now don't say me you can't read it, because we both are teachers. He hates the Na'vi. And he's not the only one"

"He just can't understand. Do you remember Barbara Faraday's out there? As Lewis Matthews is? They just need a lesson on what would they find on Earth… and what they can't find here"

"These are not your clever, understanding pupils, Norm. They are human children. Stubborn, unhappy and intolerant human children"

"They aren't all like Newton. All this makes no sense. You can't judge a book by its cover. These kids are far too young, or so we think, to wander around. They just see all this… Pandora, the Na'vi… as sour grapes. They think it's not their place"

"They'll always see it as sour grapes, until they don't grow up. And when they grow up, they'll lose their interest. Something bad could happen, Norm. If you don't do something, I will"

"We are doing something" replied Norm "Us. The Avatar Team. Or what's left of it, anyway. If you know Newt Higgins, you'll surely know Gabriel Locke"

"Locke? He's a scapegoat, Norm! What could he do?"

"Well, if we make him set an example, and we make them understand he's doing the right thing, Newt's ideas will be forgotten"

"Gabriel is an outcast! He is always alone, hardly talks to anyone, when we have a break he always sits in a corner reading a book! He's just a lonely kid who is set aside by everyone"

"It just depends on him, Bruno. He's going to change. He's already changing now. He wants to go out again, to play with his new friend. He wants to grow up, to become someone who can be an example. I mean… just look over there, out of the window! He went out again, and, moreover, he's not alone!"

A childish voice was shouting "Watch out!". A ball bounced on the window. Luckily, it was no ordinary glass, or it would have broken.

"You watch out, Tom!" replied Norm spotting his pupil

"Sorry!" shouted Tom again, collecting the ball

"Hey, are they playing soccer?" asked Bruno looking at Gabriel and Austin, who were playing with Tom

"Looks just like they are teaching Tom how to play. He seems to have a talent for it" answered Norm smiling "So, do you still think Gabriel is an outcast?"

Bruno looked at the ceiling in an annoyed way and then took something out of a pocket.

"These are the keys. I don't know what can you find in it, though. You'll find only old mattresses and stuff like that"

"You just trust me" said Norm "I'll be back in a while"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"This soccer game is really fun" was saying Tom practising his ball control "Where did you learn it from? My father always says that at the Colony there are only scientists"

They had been playing for hours, and the sun was getting high. Gabriel just hoped that lunchtime was still far, because it would have meant facing Newt and Andreas again.

"Well, that's not true" replied Austin "There are some soldiers… former soldiers too, but there aren't so many. Newt's father is one of them"

"Anyone of them plays soccer?"

"No, we learned from the TV" explained Gabriel "You know, we have a kind of box that shows images from Earth. Every four years there is the World Cup"

"The what?"

"The World Cup. All the national teams from all over the world play soccer and the team who wins is the champion of the world" said Austin "I hope USA win someday. They never do"

"Well, they're not as good as England, Ireland, or Argentina… or Brazil" commented Gabriel "Some people say that in Brazil children learn first to kick a ball, and then to walk"

"But that's impossible" replied Tom

"I know, it's just a joke"

"The only bad thing about the World Cup is that we always fight" said Austin "I mean, I support USA or Canada, Gabriel and Helena support Argentina or Ireland, Newt supports England, Andreas supports Germany, Neil supports South Korea, Walter supports Scotland and so on… it's all a mess. Anyway, I don't know why does Newt support England when his father's from the USA"

"Newt's mother is from Canterbury. Or so Da told me" replied Gabriel

"Newt's mother? I never saw her"

"You surely can't remember her. She disappeared about eight years ago" said Gabriel "I don't know where she went, but Da says she's all right"

"Just like Lewis Matthews. Do you remember him? He taught us to read and write, and he went away, to never come back, four years ago"

"Lewis Matthews you say? I've heard about someone with that name" said Tom "Let me see… yup! I know! His mate just gave birth to a boy yesterday!"

"So he's out there at Hometree" commented Austin "Well, that would explain some things"

"Talking about this World Cup, who plays in it? Kids?" asked Tom

"No, adults. They do this as a job" answered Austin

"But that's crazy! As a job… you mean they don't do anything else?"

"Nuh-uh" said Gabriel shaking his head "They just play"

"The slackers! They can't play all their life long… they just don't do anything useful! I mean, there is food to collect, a family to look after to, and they just _play_!"

"Well, they are considered very lucky, on Earth. They get a lot of money and they do something they like" commented Austin

"Well, I'm glad my dad decided to come here. At least he knew what's right"

"But you seem to have a talent for soccer. Why don't you like it?" asked Austin

"I do like it. I don't like adults who give up their responsibilities to play it. Play time ends with childhood. Adults playing to live… it's bullshit!"

"Just go there and say it to them" said Gabriel raising his shoulders

"Hey there, kids!" said Norm coming out from the compound door with two strange sticks in his hands "Having fun, aren't you?"

"Norm? Is that you?" asked Tom "Hey, I'm taller than you now! Just wait 'til Wir'em hears it!"

"You're not saying it to Wir'em, or I'm going to think again about that punishment matter"

"You would not do it"

"Well, I would"

"All right, I won't tell him. What are you doing here?"

"It's the place where I live, boy"

"But I thought you…"

"Hard thing to explain. By the way, soon I'll leave this place forever"

"When soon?"

"I've still got to do some things, but as soon as I'm ready, the only me you'll know will be the one who taught you to read and write"

"Good. I just hope that 'soon' comes soon"

"Well, there is a young man who needs some training as he's going to do his first steps out there, but as soon as he's ready, I'll be too"

"What are those sticks, Norm?" asked Austin

"Stilts. It's an old tool used, for example, by the clowns or the street artists"

"I can't see the use of them" said Gabriel looking at the ropes tied to the 'stilt-things'

"You tie them to your legs, and walk" explained Norm "Want to try?"

"No. It seems a bit too high"

"Well, when you used to crawl on the floor, even walking seemed a bit too high"

"Norm, please, I don't want to make myself ridiculous in front of my friends! And I don't want to get hurt!"

"Don't mind that. If you fall down, I'll catch you" said Tom

"Aall riight. What do I have to do?" asked Gabriel as Norm passed him the stilts

"Just sit on that boulder" said Norm pointing at a big rock which a kid could easily climb "I'll tie the stilts to your legs"

Gabriel climbed on the boulder as he was asked to, and patiently waited as Norm tied the stilts. He felt a bit stupid. How was he going to stand, now? And what about Newt? He could always get to the Compound hallways and look at him. That would have been trouble.

"Come on, Gabriel, try to get up now"

Oh, no, Newt would not come. As it seemed, he was afraid of Tom.

Gabriel pushed himself with his hands and tried to stand. He wasn't surprised when he didn't make it.

"You can't do it by yourself the first time" said Norm

"I've done a lot of things by myself since I was eight" replied Gabriel trying to stand up again

"What does he mean?" Tom asked Austin

"His parents argued, two years ago. David took him and moved to another room of the colony. But he's not always around, and Alicia does never enter that room. In fact, she never goes on that _floor_. So Gabriel's on his own most of the time"

"Will you please stop talking as if I wasn't here?" asked Gabriel trying to stand again. He fell again on his seat.

He had tried to forget that day again and again, but the scar was still there. It was early morning, and Mum had just waken him and Helena up when Da had arrived, saying that he was going to pass through Eywa's eye soon.

Mum had protested loudly, saying he didn't care about his real children, saying Peter was just a foundling who had no right to rob a family of its chief, and things like that. She seemed to blame Peter of everything.

Then Da had raised his voice. And then Gabriel had been really afraid. Da never raised his voice.

He had said that Mum had not been proven worthy to stay on Pandora, and she had been allowed to stay only because she was pregnant and cryosleep would have caused a miscarriage. He had begun shouting. Helena had started crying. Just then Da had stopped.

Mum had said him he had no right to take care of two children. That, if she was no worthy to stay on Pandora, he was no worthy to be a father.

Then Gabriel had stood up, and had shouted that he was not going anywhere without Da.

The noise had stopped. Both Mum and Da had looked at him. Just Helena was still crying.

"So be it" had said Mum "Do whatever you want, David, but just take your own son with you!"

Then she had gone out of the room. After then Gabriel had understood that it wasn't a thing come out just that day. It had been like that for years. That had just been the straw who broke the direhorse's back.

Da had said him to gather his stuff and follow him. And then they had moved.

"I didn't know mated couples could do such things" said Tom looking at his feet

"For the Sky People, it's not that strange" replied Norm "Sometimes we just can't find the right mate"

Gabriel tried to stand again. Another failure.

"I'm sorry for you, Gabriel. I didn't know you had such problems" said Tom looking sad "It must be really hard"

"It's not my own problem. It's Da's" answered Gabriel "Mum still loves me, and I'm with Helena all day long. The only real problem is that I have to tidy up my room on my own"

This time he didn't fall on the rock. Something had seized him by his coat's collar.

"Who said you could not be helped?" asked Tom letting go the coat "At least you're standing, now"

Gabriel felt he was going to fall again. He raised a leg and tried to move, and he felt in balance.

"You just have to keep on moving" said Norm "Or at least, I never saw someone standing still on stilts"

"I look like a fool trying to dance" murmured Gabriel trying to go forward "Whoa!"

Tom caught him again just before he fell.

"That's what friends are for"

"Thanks"

Austin just made some steps back and looked at the scene. He seemed to be enjoying it.

"Maybe you still can't do it alone" commented Tom "Try putting a hand on my shoulder, so you won't fall"

Gabriel put a hand on his friend's shoulder and tried again to make two steps forward. This time he didn't fall.

"Seems like you need a bit of training" said Norm "It must be nearly lunch time. For this morning it's enough"

"I'm going home then…" said Tom stepping aside to let Gabriel sit "Mum and Dad know I'm here, but I'd better not to be late"

"All right, bye Tom!" answered Gabriel untying his stilts

He finished taking the stilts off and jumped down the rock. He still felt in bad balance.

"Let's go, kids. So, Gabriel, tell me something about you. So you are ten years old, aren't you?" asked Norm

"Yes, I am"

"Are you the oldest kid in the colony?"

"Dunno. You see, I've got a twin sister, but no one remembers who came out first"

"Well, we can say you came out first… out of the colony"

Gabriel and Austin laughed.

"And this makes you the oldest kid" commented Austin

"By the way, I'm the oldest boy" punctualized Gabriel as they went through the air lock door

"Well, we could consider you a young man if you want us to" said Norm taking his exopack off "There are no teenagers here, so…"

"Wait, wait, wait" Gabriel told Norm putting on his glasses "You talked to Tom about a young man who had to be trained. Then you made me walk on stilts. And some days ago, Annemarie took a sample of my blood. She said I could have gotten ill, but here on Pandora there are no viruses!"

"I was right. You're quite a smart kid for your age" Norm smirked

"Ever seen Star Wars?" asked Gabriel "In one of the movies, a nine-years-old boy…"

"I know Star Wars. There have been made many versions of the movie. When I was eleven, I saw the 2077 Centenary Remake, the one with Kyle Phelps as Darth Vader"

"The Centenary Remake? Yuck! I was talking about the real Star Wars! The old movies with Christensen, McGregor, Hamill and all the old team!"

"Oh… so I'm talking to a good judge. You really are a smart kid"

"Yet, I don't think you've chosen me to be a Jedi Knight" commented Gabriel crossing his arms

"What's a Jedi Knight?" asked Austin

"One day I'll show you" answered Gabriel "Sky People, anyway. One of them was even called Skywalker!"

Austin started laughing

"But they don't really exist" punctualized Norm "Or, at least, I would say, not the Jedi Knights who fight evil. I think there is a Jedi religious order on Earth, but no one of them ever stepped on Pandora"

"Roger that, Norm"

"So, Gabriel, what I was trying to say is that… according to the fact that you're growing up, you're living alone with your father and the old avatar team is getting scattered… no, don't mind that, it's a comment of mine… and the other kids seem to hate the People"

"They don't hate them. They just seem afraid" punctualized Austin "Newt says the Na'vi kidnap the humans"

"He's just stupid" commented Gabriel "I mean, if they really kidnap humans, why did Peter take me home?"

"Well, Gabriel, have you ever heard of Newt's mum, Barbara Faraday? She got a disease while she was waiting for Laura"

"A disease? But if here there are no viruses…"

"Not a disease made by viruses. A disease in the DNA of some cells. Do you know what's DNA, don't you?"

"I do"

"Well, something on Earth, before she came here, altered her DNA. She got a cancer while she was here, and we recognized the disease some months before Laura was born. As she had an avatar, the only way in which we could save her life, and Laura's, was to let her pass through Eywa's eye. That's the story"

"Did she live?" asked Austin "Newt would be happy, if he knew his mama's all right"

"He would not. He would not recognize her" replied Norm "We need someone to act as an interpreter. Someone at Newt's stature. You, Gabriel"

"Me? And what should I do?"

"The kid. Just, as an avatar driver"

Gabriel wanted just to shout "hooray", start jumping and hug Norm. That meant no more specs! And no more Newt! No more Bruno's school, no more Helena, no more being set aside! He was going to spend all the day with Tom and Peter, and no more hallways, no more stairs and white walls and air locks and canteen alarm and…

Austin?

Was he going to lose Austin's friendship?

"What about Austin?" he asked

"He's still too young" answered Norm

"Don't mind. I can survive one more year" said Austin "By the way, I don't think your avatar is ready, not yet. My papa says that, even with growth accelerators, an avatar needs a month to grow a year old"

"But that means I'll have to wait for a year!" moaned Gabriel "What if Da passes through Eywa's eye before…?"

"He won't. He won't leave you alone, or he would have done it when you were eight" said Norm "Now, let's go and have lunch, before we find rotten food"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Joseph Karloff had never wanted that day to come, but he knew it could not be avoided. His father was leaving, now for the RDA, in six months for Pandora. He would have stayed away from home for years. He and Elizabeth would have had to stay at home with Mum.

Dad had been blind for some years, then he had been given money to be operated in a private clinic and had regained eyesight again when Joseph was four. Some months later, Elizabeth was born. Now Elizabeth was ten and Joseph fourteen. He had just started high school in the same comprehensive institute his father had attended.

"So, Dad, why are you going to Pandora… as a soldier?" he asked "I thought you didn't like war. Especially after what they have done to you in Venezuela"

"It's a long story, Joe" answered Dad closing his bag

"You won't have time to tell me it now that you're leaving" replied Joseph

"All right. Sit down. It's going to be quite long" said Dad sitting on his bed and waiting for Joseph to do the same thing "It all begun when I still attended school, with a classmate of mine. Two classmates, I mean. Or, as the teachers called them, Jolt and Thunder"

"Jolt and Thunder?"

"Yeah. The world, anyway, knew them better as Jacob and Thomas"

"Were they brothers?"

"They were identical twins"

"Now I understand the nicknames"

"All right. Now, I had these two friends, Jake and Tom. Well, we spent all the school years together, then Jake and I went to fight that bloody war while Tom decided to attend university. In the same battle in which I lost eyesight, Jake had a spinal damage. He could not walk anymore"

"Oh…"

Joseph would have wanted to say something about it, but he just could not speak. Where were Jolt and Thunder now?

"Tom decided to do something for both of us. He signed in the Avatar Program, to be sent on Pandora, as a scientist. The wage was quite high, and he told me he was going to save some money to pay us the hospital. Then, some days before his scheduled departure, someone murdered him. The FBI is still investigating about the murder"

"Why?"

So, Thunder was no more. But where was Jolt?

"Because they're digging in deep shit, Joe. The murderer was just someone who pretended to be a thief. The instigator seems to be someone up high in RDA. Someone who wanted to get rid of Tom Sully just to put someone weaker in his place"

"Wait, Dad. You're saying me your friends' surname was Sully? Like the Jake Sully who everyone was talking about when I was a little boy? The one who led the Pandora Uprising?"

"Well, I knew another Jake Sully. A young boy who had a real talent for soccer, acted in a school play called _Before the Sun Sets_ as his brother's stuntman, and declined the offer of a professional soccer team to sign in the Marines"

"And where is your friend now? Why did you never receive e-mails or phone calls, when all your old classmates always come to pay a visit every Sunday? I mean, maybe they are the same person, but why have you never kept in touch with him?"

"Because… it's all my fault, Joe. I caused him that injury, in Venezuela. He shouted at me, at the hospital. I never was able to forgive myself. I had ruined my best friend's life. And I caused Tom's death. If I had not tried to defuse that bomb, we'd be here, in this town, the three of us. And you and Elizabeth would play with their kids. Now, do you understand why do I have to get there? I must make this journey to come to terms with my past. I want to find Jolt and rebuild our friendship. And… there are also many more things, son. I've been recruited in FBI, I'm in an under cover mission. Tom's murder was no isolated case. Two years ago, in Kingsbridge, U.K., two soon-to-be avatar drivers, husband and wife, with three children, were killed in a car crash. Their youngest son, who was with them in the car and survived, said that his father was saying the brakes didn't work. But the car was brand new. They just had bought it for their second child, who passed his A levels with top marks"

"What about them now?"

"Their avatars had not been created yet. Their oldest children, Beatrice, 26 and Charles, 22, are leaving with me, as avatar drivers. Charles is still studying Botany, he should graduate in weeks"

"But this is the same situation your Jake friend found himself in!"

"Quite. Jake was no scientist and had no training. While Beatrice is a neurologist and Charles is a soon-to-graduate botanist. But, the matter is, that if we can find the proofs that Parker Selfridge is behind those deaths, RDA is over. I mean, it's already been weakened by the Pandora Uprising, so, if Jake has crippled the RDA, I want to be the one who kills it. Tom Sully, Frederick and Natasha Martin… they need justice, as their families do"

_**Two more things before the "next chapter preview"**_

_**I did find no better nickname for the Sully twins, so, if "Jolt and Thunder" is no good, just consider I'm Italian, I'm nineteen and I've been studying English only since I was eleven.**_

"_**Before the Sun Sets" is the title of a mostly unknown Italian play (you can even erase that mostly), set in a circus, in which I have a role. The poster is very, very similar to the Avatar one (it's black with the face of a clown on it) . And there is a guy on stilts!**_

_**Kingsbridge, the town from which the Martins come, is a tribute to Ken Follett's amazing books.**_

_**From next chapter "The Sound Barrier":**_

"_**All right. Just lay down. **__**And count the sheep, it usually works"**_

"_**Sheep?"**_

"_**Count whatever you want!"**_

"_**Gabriel! Count the skunks!"**_


	4. The sound barrier

Chapter 3

The Sound Barrier

_(Alfred's POV)_

Saint Peter's Square, Rome.

It was five o'clock in the morning. Two boys were walking near the big Egyptian obelisk.

There were many cultures in that very square. As Alfred knew, Catholic, Ancient Egyptian and even, according to a book he had read, written about a century ago, there was something made by the Illuminati.*

Once that square had surely been a magnificent place, but acid rains had ruined many of the statues during the last century, and most of them had been replaced with copies. The walls, however, could not be replaced, and bore the signs of corrosion. It was a dying place, as everything on Earth. Yet, every Sunday, people from all over the world went there to pray, hoping in a miracle to save the dying world.

He and his cousin Edmund were going to strike there. In one of the most sacred places of Earth. In Edmund's rucksack there were some spray paint cans. They were going to tag on St. Peter's Square.

Just like, as their uncle had said, Parker Selfridge and Miles Quaritch had tried to destroy the Well of Souls. They were going to make humanity understand what it meant being hit in a sacred place.

Edmund, sixteen, was on a high school trip, and Alfred, who was six years older and worked as a policeman in Newbridge, had followed him by train.

They looked around. It was going to be terrible, if someone found them before it was done. They had to begin and to finish in a few minutes, and then hope the Vatican Police was enough indulgent with them. Luckily Edmund was a good artist. His father, Alfred's Uncle William, always said he was going to become the new Michelangelo.

Now they were going to _mock_ Michelangelo… Uncle William and Da were going to kill them… let alone Grandpa!

"Just consider ourselves lucky Uncle Dave left before we were born" commented Edmund

"Did you guess my thoughts?" asked Alfred pulling out of his pocket a mobile phone and starting filming his cousin. He was going to put the movie on the social network using his very phone.

"You just kept saying your da, my da and Grandpa are going to kill us. You even included my teachers, your chief, the Swiss Guards, the Pope, the Italian police… well, Uncle Dave won't"

"He can always scold us via Skype"

"What? Uncle Dave? He abandoned his computer years ago! The only one who uses that laptop, and not always, is Gabriel. And, as Danny says, is starting letting it go"

"Well, that's not strange. Gabriel is eleven, Ned. He has surely more stuff to study, if he lived in Ireland he would be attending secondary school!"

"Danny did start secondary school, but he's using _my_ computer more than ever! You're lucky, having just a three-years-old sister" said Edmund starting to draw

"I don't think so. Now Marianne is the little family doll, but give her some years and she'll start drooling after that pink fluff balls which people try to call High School Musical" commented Alfred "Helena's all right, I think. Gabriel said Danny she plays soccer better than a boy!"

"Yeah, Al, but Helena's Uncle Dave's daughter. And that means she's on Pandora, too. And that includes Aunt Alicia and Peter, too"

"Never seen this Peter" said Alfred as Edmund was finishing half of the drawing "Has Uncle Dave ever sent any pics of him?"

"Never. Ever." answered Edmund "But I know he's not really his son. He's been adopted. He's a year younger than me, I think, he's got black hair and he's quite tall. Gabriel just worships him, and I can understand why he does"

"Well, yeah, you Sketch Boy, didn't you do the same thing to me?"

"Alfred!"

"Edmund! Just keep drawing, OK?" resolved Alfred. Then he turned his mobile phone's camera to himself.

"Do you see what are we doing?" he asked "We are not afraid to face the law. But we just want you to feel what the Na'vi feel when RDA goes there and starts digging the ground! Rain will erase our drawings… but holes in the ground, fallen trees… they don't get back to be what they were so easily"

He turned the video camera again on Edmund's drawing. A miner with a spade was running to catch a young woman in Ancient Greek clothes, a sealed box in her hands.

There was a sentence under them.

_Hands off Pandora._

_(Gabriel's POV)_

"So, anyone of you can tell me who are the people in this picture?" asked Bruno projecting a photo on the wall

"That's my dad!" said Walter pointing at one of the men in the last row

"Yeah, that's right, Walt, but it's quite easy, to recognize a person you share a room with" replied Bruno "What can you say me about… him?" and he pointed to a brown-haired man sitting in the first row

Walter remained silent.

"He's Norm Spellman, sir" intervened Austin

"Very good, Austin. Has your father ever talked you about him or you have met him here, in the colony?"

"Well, I've met him sometimes" explained Austin playing with his cap "He often comes here and teaches Gabriel something. And I stay there and watch"

Gabriel grinned. It had been nearly one year since he had known Norm. Now he was eleven, he could climb on artificial rocks, walk easily on stilts and beat Helena at one-to-one soccer. Now at least Newt could not say he was easily beaten by a girl… but the most important thing was that he had learned some simple words, in Na'vi, which could have let him understand something and make some sentences.

Newt just kept saying that he lost his time, but, when Gabriel went to the abandoned hangar, he let him play more often than usual. After some matches, when the other boys saw he was no bad player, always tried to make him play, even when he wanted to do something else. Austin said he was getting stronger, and Newt had started looking at him as a rival, so he was trying to "calm him down". Da had commented that the moment of confrontation was close, and he should expect a fight. He had also said that, as soon as that day would come, he would have been ready to go outside as an avatar driver.

Gabriel didn't understand why he had to fight Newt, as Mum always scolded him when he argued with Helena, but Da had said he had to gain respect from the other kids. As Newt was the chief, he had to beat him to take his place.

"Anyone can recognize the other people in the photo?" asked Bruno "Apart from your families, anyway"

"Nope" said Helena who was sitting at Gabriel and Austin's same desk "But, sir, why are the people in the first row sitting on that bench? In all the other photos my dad was in, they all stood"

"Nice question, Helena" said Bruno "First, you all need to know this picture was taken twelve years ago. It was the last photo taken to the Avatar Team before RDA was sent off Pandora. Now, does anyone of you know who _he_ is? A hint: he caused both the bench and the situation we all are in. Without him, no one of you would have been born" and he pointed to a young man sitting between Da and Norm

The class remained silent. But Gabriel had already seen that man. Not that very man, but…

He looked another time at the young man pictured. He was about twenty, maybe twenty-two, he had very short hair and he looked as happy as Tom had been when Gabriel had taught him to play soccer. In fact, his smile, the light in his eyes, were just similar to Tom's. Of course… Tom! Tom had five fingers just like a human, that could have been his father!

"Mr. Bruno, I don't know the name" he said to his teacher "But… is his surname Sully?"

"Good job, Gabriel. That's Jake Sully. Did someone tell you?"

"Yeah, I know his son"

So that was Tom's father. But why did Mr. Bruno point at him when Helena had asked him a question?

"Well, have you ever heard the sentence 'If you can't make a mountain come to you, you go to the mountain?'" asked Mr. Bruno "That was a case like that"

"Do you mean he could not stand?" asked Helena "Had he been hurt in some way, like when Walter gets a strain?"

Some kids chuckled. Walter was famous for getting a strain every week. He passed more time skipping on a single foot than on his two feet.

"Well, he had been hurt, but in a worse way. He could not even move his legs. He was sent here because his brother died weeks before his scheduled departure, so the Avatar Program needed a substitute. A few days after he and Norm arrived, Serge decided it was the time to take a photo, but Jake didn't want to. Then David said he was going to sit down, too, and six more scientists agreed and went to look for a bench. Jake was quite pissed, in fact, but he sat on the bench and smiled to the camera. If he remembered this story now, he'd surely laugh"

"All right, it's all clear now" said Helena

"Who are the other ones?" asked Gabriel "Well, I know that man on the left is Gerald Digby, and there are Serge Giles and Annemarie Hooper, but those other two near Norm, who are they?"

He pointed to a man with dreadlocks and a woman who just looked like an older Laura.

"They are former avatar drivers" said Mr. Bruno "Lewis Matthews and Barbara Faraday. Newton Higgins, for heaven's sake, we're talking about your mother! Will you please pay attention?"

Someone knocked on the door and then opened it. Gabriel recognized Serge, Austin's father.

"Bruno, Dave and I need to talk to you" said Serge "Can you come out for a moment?"

"All right. Kids, please don't make a mess while I'm away. I'll be back in a minute"

He went out of the room. As soon as the door closed, Newt stood up and approached to Gabriel.

"Do you think you can be the teacher's pet, now the science geeks are giving you private classes?"

"You don't call them like that" replied Gabriel standing up "You know, they are human just like us"

"So it seems" commented Newt looking at his knuckles "Maybe the big blue aliens just brainwashed them"

"They are no 'big blue aliens' and they didn't brainwash anyone! The People are the children of this planet. We have just been adopted, as we have no Mother down there on Earth because our ancestors killed her. We are Eywa's stepchildren now, Newt. If you can't accept it and consider the People as family, you'll be the only alien on this planet!"

"How dare you?"

"I just do it. Who are you, Newt, to tell me 'how dare you'? You're no better than me. You're just a little snot, you are _nothing_ and you command _nothing_!! No one really needs you down here, do you know?"

"And you're just a freak, just like your father!" shouted Newt, with a hint of fear in his voice. The little bully was surely going to learn a lesson.

"Shut it off, Newt" said Austin standing next to Gabriel "Your hate and fear just won't take you anywhere!"

"You shut it off, beanpole! Your parents are even worse! They just wanted you to be tall like that because they just wanted you to look like their big friends… maybe your father really _did_ something"

"One more word, Newt, and I'll make you see why I'm taller than you!" snarled Austin stepping forward and holding out a fist

"Austin, don't provoke him" said Gabriel in a calm voice "You heard what Mr. Bruno said. No mess"

"Mr. Bruno won't know about this" said Newt getting closer "You won't tell it to him… you'll never tell it anyone!"

His fist hit before Gabriel could even see it. He felt a sudden pain in the ribs, but he knew for experience he had not to rub the hit spot. Newt could just hit again.

He raised his arms in defence, then he charged at Newt with his head low. He was taller and thinner than his classmate, and was surely stronger as he kept training with stilts and climbing, but Newt was known for his fists.

He knew he just had to defend, until Newt was not tired. Then, maybe, he would have found an opening.

_(David's POV)_

"Hey, what's that noise?" asked Serge pointing at the class door

"Kids" commented Bruno "I can't leave them alone for a damn second!"

He started opening the door. The kids, twelve in all, were in a circle, looking worried. David just could see Gabriel and Newt fighting in the centre of the circle.

"Got to stop this!" murmured Bruno stepping forward

"No! Don't!" replied Serge grabbing his shirt "Gabriel has to end this fight. To win it. He must show the class he's right"

"Civilized people just don't show they're right with fists and kicks! They just stopped doing so in Middle Ages!"

"I know, Bruno, but we are talking about kids!" explained David "Kids, born on Pandora. Even if they don't know, they behave, even if just a bit, like the kids out there. If someone fights and wins, he'll take the loser's place. Newt is just like a chief, if Gabriel beats him, he'll be the example to follow! And I just think the Higgins boy needs a humility lesson"

"Yes, but what if Newton wins?" asked Bruno

"He won't. Gabriel knows how to defend himself. Just don't underestimate him, Bruno. He has changed a lot in the last year. He doesn't know just what's out there. He also learned how to take chances. He's just a kid, but he surely knows how to find an opening, exploit it..."

As he was speaking, he saw Gabriel catching Newt's arms and blocking them behind his back. He was doing as he had been taught. And he had done well, even if his glasses were cracked and he had a black eye.

"And beat his opponent" resolved David "He has overcome his task. Now it's our time"

_(Austin's POV)_

"What's going on here?" asked Mr. Bruno entering the class

"Gabriel has poked Newton, Dad! Newt didn't do anything, really, and Gabriel beat him up!" said Andreas

"That's not true!" replied Austin clutching Andreas's shirt "You boot-licking liar!"

"Newt has begun!" added Helena "He said the Na'vi have brainwashed everyone here! He was trying to make Gabriel angry"

Newt, sitting on the floor, started whimpering, saying things like "He hurt me" and "I just was kidding".

"Were you just kidding, Newton?" asked Papa entering the room with David "So, what did you say?"

"Nothing" answered Newt shaking his head

"He called you science geek, Papa, and you too, David" intervened Austin "And he said bad things about you. I'm quite surprised Gabriel didn't get angry, because I did. I think he was trying to make me think you used on me the GH you have in the lab"

"Gabriel even calmed Austin down!" said Helena "Then Newt punched him in the chest"

Newt started whimpering again, this time there were even tears on his face. Crocodile tears, of course.

"All right, we've heard the witnesses. But not all of them" said David "Can someone else say something? Who begun the fight, Gabriel or Newton?"

"Newton" said Walter

"Yeah, it was him!" said one of the girls, Jennifer, while other kids nodded

"What about you, Laura? Who started?" asked Mr. Bruno. Laura was Newton's sister, she always tried to defend him… if he had not done something too big.

"It was Newt. He was no kidding, he wanted to knock Gabriel out, and then hide every proof" said Laura standing up from her seat "And he _really_ insulted Austin saying that someone has used Na'vi GH on him"

"You betrayer!" snarled Newt

"You betrayed yourself, Newton" said Mr. Bruno holding his wrist "And I just think your father would like to know about your ideas. Let's go and talk to him"

He made Newt stand and took him away.

While all was taking place, Gabriel had gone to his seat and stayed there, his hand on his eye.

"Are you all right, son?" asked David ducking at Gabriel's level

"Kind of, Da. I feel just like I fell from the first floor" moaned Gabriel

"Don't worry. It's over" said David hugging his son "It's all over. He won't try it again"

"Yeah, but what about my glasses now? You can't solder a broken lens!" said Gabriel looking at his irreparably broken glasses

"We'll find another one" answered David "And, by the way, I don't think you'll need them so often, from now on"

"Wait, do you mean that…?"

"Well, that was your task. You went through it fairly well, so this means you're ready"

"A task?" asked Neil "For what?"

"You didn't tell it to anyone?" David asked Gabriel "Your classmate is an in-training avatar driver. The youngest _ever_" he added, speaking to the class "And, right now, he has gone through his last task. Gain his classmates' respect"

"Had it to be so hard?" asked Walter "If you just said us you were an avatar driver, Newt would have never tried beating you up!"

"The audience never claps to the easy way, Walt" commented Austin "If you knew he was an avatar driver, and Newt managed to beat him, that would have been much worse"

"Come on, David, let's go" said Papa "Gabriel, Austin, you two come with us"

"Why me too, Papa?" asked Austin. He hoped there would have been a surprise for him, but he never had been trained in any way, so it was unlikely.

"Because you're Gabriel's best friend in this place" answered Papa

"Come on, kids" said David helping Gabriel to stand. He seemed to have no problems, but surely he was still shaken "Before the great event, you need someone to check on you, Gabriel. It's better like that"

_(Gabriel's POV)_

It was not the first time Gabriel got in the Compound to be cured, but this time it was not just for a cut. And, anyway, now that he could think about it, they had really done too much on a simple scratch like that. Now he knew they were getting DNA samples.

Annemarie just took two minutes to tend at all his bruises and scratches, she put a disinfectant where he was bleeding, but in the end she didn't do so much. She said that, in cases like that, only time was the right doctor.

"Are you okay, Gabriel?" said Mr. Bruno entering the room "Newt just got his punishment for starting the brawl and trying to lie about it"

"What will he do?" asked Austin playing with his cap "Something around the toilets?"

Cleaning up toilets was the worst detention a kid could get. There were just two public toilets they still used in the Colony, but there was a terrible smell in them, and, after two or three days passed at cleaning them, the unfortunate kid started smelling bad. Da had said that the kids who cleaned up the toilets too often started looking like skunks, terrible-smelling creatures who once lived on Earth.

"He'll have to clean them up for two weeks" confirmed Mr. Bruno

"He'll stink like a skunk!" commented Gabriel getting off the hospital bed "I doubt that even Andreas will get close to him"

"It's not a good thing to say, Gabriel" said Da

"You talked first about skunks when I was four!"

"Let's get in the links, kid, Norm is already waiting for us out there!"

Annemarie walked to a strange chest-looking bed and laid in it.

"See you at the school, Dave. I've been away for too much time, the little ones must be waiting for me"

She closed the "bed-thing".

"Mama's one of the teachers at the school. She teaches English to the youngest kids, the ones who are about four years old" explained Austin "The other two teachers are Lewis Matthews and Manfred Dale"

"Manfred? That one who taught me the Na'vi language?"

"Yep. He substitutes Norm when he needs to"

"Hello, kids" said Norm jumping out of another thing like that "Are you ready, Gabriel?"

"Well… yeah"

"Are you afraid?"

"Why should I?"

"Shall we go?"

"Of course!"

"All right, we go first, we'll wait for you out there. I'm in the link bed, Serge!" said Da pointing to a glass panel which didn't lead outside but in another room, where there were some hospital beds, just two times bigger. On one of them, there was a blue figure, as tall as an adult man, who wore only what seemed an oversized grey T-shirt which reached his knees.

Da got in one of the "link beds" and closed it. It didn't look hard.

"Okay, it's your time" said Norm "Go in that link bed. I'll help you, if you want"

"Thank you" said Gabriel sitting in the link

"All right. Just lay down. And count the sheep, it usually works" said Serge from outside

"Sheep?" asked Gabriel. What was a sheep?

"Count whatever you want!" replied Serge

"Gabriel! Count the skunks!" was shouting Austin "The animals don't matter!"

That was easier. Da had showed him the picture of a skunk, once. A four-legged little beast, black with white stripes, and a huge tail.

He imagined one skunk passing under a log. Two skunks passing under a log. Three skunks passing under a log... after ten skunks he felt bored and nothing had happened.

_Has something gone wrong...? Gabriel, count the skunks. But what if they can't... eleven skunks passing under a log... link me to my avatar... twelve skunks passing under a log... thirteen skunks..._

"Just calm down, Gabriel, you'll make it harder if you worry" said Norm from outside "Are the skunks too stinky?"

"No" he said raising his voice

"All right. I'm out there. Just don't wo..."

Norm's voice faded. The dark itself faded, turning into a sort of tunnel. _Now _he was worried. He wanted to call Da, to ask for help, to get out of the link bed, but there was nothing around him. He just seemed to be nowhere.

Then, a light made him shut his eyelids. It was way too bright to keep his eyes open.

He felt something under his legs, and something else around his ears. Someone was saying his name. A hand slapped gently his face.

"Gabriel, can you hear me? It's Da!"

"Da...?" he murmured. He just wanted to sleep some more time. He did not want to go to school "Two more minutes, please"

Someone near him cackled. Gabriel recognized Norm's voice.

"It's a quarter to ten, Gabriel! School's begun one hour ago!" said Da

"A quarter to...?" shouted Gabriel sitting up and opening his eyes

He was not in his room. And he felt no glasses on his nose, but he could see the clock on the wall. It was indeed a quarter to ten.

"Oh... crap!"

_I am in my avatar!_

"Are you taking leaves from Thomas's book?" asked Norm crossing his arms "Because if you are doing it, please stop it. Just one docker** in my school is enough"

"I'm sorry"

"Well, that's better. Don't mind, anyway. I know you must be excited, I went through it too"

"I did it before you, Norm. Just let me explain" replied Da

"Can't I just jump off this bed?" asked Gabriel looking at both adults "... please?"

"Well... just be careful. When you got on stilts first, you could not even stand" answered Norm

"Well, what kind of balance could I have with two sticks with which I had to do the dim-witted's dance to save my knees from turning purple?" said Gabriel jumping off the bed.

"You have a point" commented Norm as Gabriel, hands still on the mattress, stomped his feet on the ground, as he had done in past with stilts to gain balance "But why are you doing the "dim-witted's dance" anyway?" he asked as Gabriel lifted his hands.

"I just wanted to be sure I had no problems" said Gabriel making some steps forward. All was well. It was a lot easier than stilts.

"All right, now let's just mind step two" said Da getting a pair of trousers from a chair "Put on these, and I've found even something like the coats you use if you want them"

"Thanks, Da. I'll take the coat, too"

He would have needed it, if he wanted to be recognized easily by Tom and Peter. Tom was a good observer, but he had seen hints of his father in him just looking at him at a close distance. If he went out as he always had, his best friend would have recognized him immediately despite the stature, the blue skin and the... tail?

"Da, I can't put on these pants" he complained "I just can't control the tail, it won't pass through the hole"

Da smiled, then caught the upper part of the trousers with a hand and Gabriel's tail with the other, and made it pass through the hole that had been made in the cloth.

"Better?"

"Better"

"Let's get out, then. I bet Gerald already told Jake everything"

"Wait a sec!" said someone from the other side of the room. Beyond the glass panel, Austin was holding his father's camera.

He looked very short now… and he was the tallest boy in the class!

"Come on, Gabriel, say cheese!"

Yeah, but what was cheese? He was not going to say such a nonsense word!***

He put on his coat and waved to the camera. Austin pressed the button and the camera flashed.

"Let's go, now" said Norm

He pointed to a door and started walking to it. Once he had crossed that, Gabriel found out he was right near the Compound air lock door which he had crossed when, a year before, he, Austin and Tom had played together for the first time.

The Compound was as Gabriel always remembered it, just smaller. He heard someone approaching. Those were the steps of someone running. And jumping. He turned just in time to see Peter jumping a fence and running to meet them.

"I came here as fast as I could!" panted his brother stopping in front of them

"You were really fast" commented Gabriel "**I see you, brother**. Now I can say it"

Peter looked both surprised and happy.

"It's just great having you here, little bro" he said, patting him on the head "Are you all right? How many are these?" and he hold out three fingers

"They are three, Peter, I'm not near..."

_BOOM._

A huge bang, coming from the sky, made everyone stop. Peter looked at the sky with a terrified look on his face. He just looked like he had been turned to stone.

"Peter?" asked Da

"**Was that a... a...**" stuttered Peter

"It was no bomb" said Da "I can't say, however, if it's better... or worse"

"What was it, Da?" asked Gabriel

"A sonic boom. Something has broken the sound barrier" explained Da "Something very big"

"Sound barrier?" asked Gabriel and Peter

"Hard thing to explain. But, for a bang like that, there is only one thing that could explain it: the Sky People... the _real_ Sky People... are back"

_**--- Author's Notes ---**_

_*** Obviously, the book**__** Alfred talks about is "Angels and Demons", by Dan Brown ^-^. **_

_*****__*** In Italy, we say that people who swear too often "speak like dockers". I just didn't find a better word.**_

_***** There surely is no cheese on Pandora, that's why Gabriel doesn't know what is it. Anyway, Austin took the sentence from his father. He said "say cheese", but he doesn't know what is it, too (just like when a child hears bad words from his parents but doesn't know they are bad words)**_

_**--------**_

_**If you haven't guessed it yet, Alfred and Edmund are Gabriel's oldest cousins.**__** Danny is Edmund's brother and Marianne is Alfred's sister.**_

_**Newt doesn't exactly know what happened to his mother. And he doesn'**__**t want to know it, or at least he doesn't want anyone to tell him what really happened.**_

_**And Peter's strange behavior about bangs… well, you'll understand it in next chapter!**_

_**Thanks to all the readers who put this story in their favourites!**_

_**-------**_

_**From next chapter "Sky People call it surprise":**_

"_**Tom played hookey again! This time he's in trouble, sure as death and taxes!"**_

"_**He's not in trouble, Norm! This time he's got the hall pass"**_

"_**Well, I just forgot that death and taxes are not so sure here, Jake"**_


	5. Sky People call it surprise

_**Hi everyone, and thanks for the reviews! Now the English version (just five chapters including the prologue) has reached the number of reviews of the Italian one (**__**nine**__** chapters!)...**_

_**This chapter was quite hard to write, and, in fact, is totally different from the Italian original, even if I kept some elements like Gabriel's journey, and the appearance of Selfridge.**_

_**For the new characters on this chapter, I won't say anything. And... just be ready, Jake Sully's back! =)**_

Chapter 4

Sky People call it surprise

_(Tom's POV)_

Manfred was a boring teacher. He just could not understand!

Tom had been heavily scolded for not having done his homework, but he had done it… before Michael had scrabbled on his slate and broken his chalks!

Norm was used to it, and anyway he knew Michael well, but Manfred was nearly always "sleeping", so he didn't see the little tyke's pranks very often, and thought the little brother was just an excuse. He had said he was not the only schoolboy with a younger brother or sister, and he was right, but his classmates also had older siblings, or four grandparents, or uncles, or aunts, and anyway they could easily do their homework and keep it safe.

He was alone. He had just his parents and his grandmother. His maternal grandfather and his uncle and aunt all died before he was born, his Dad's parents… who knew where they were? He had not even ever seen them… his parents and grandmother had their duties, and so… _he_ was the eldest, he had to keep an eye on Michael.

"Your friend there at the Colony is surely more responsible than you" was saying Manfred

"Well, of course… he has no pain in the ass to keep an eye on! He's just got a sister of his age… who doesn't even share a room with him! I said you, Manfred… my brother just destroyed my work while I wasn't looking!"

"I don't want to hear again words like that in my class, Thomas" Manfred scolded him

Wir'em laughed. He was one year older than Tom, and had some difficulties with verbs. Tom just hated him because his older classmate just mocked who could do better than him.

"But Gabriel has not you as teacher!" replied Tom to Manfred "He said me his teacher's called Bruno Stop-whatever"

"Schopenhauer" corrected Manfred as most of the kids laughed "And just don't laugh, boys and girls. It's not an English surname, it's German. Most of the Colony people don't even understand it"

The classroom door burst open, just to reveal Sel'cral, one of the youngest hunters, a close friend of Norm and David's.

"**Norm and David are coming back!**" he said "**And… as Gerald said… there is another Dreamwalker with them!**"

There was silence, followed by murmurs. Who was this new Dreamwalker? Maybe he was even a nice person like Norm… or a rude one like Manfred?

"**Who is he… or she?**" asked Tom standing up "**Norm told me about a young man, so I think he must be a boy…**"

"**Don't know. I heard he **_**is**_** quite young, anyway. Not even older than Wir'em. But he's all right, he's even born here, in the Colony**"

"**Do you mean he's a child? Like us?**" asked Ateyo "**I never saw child Dreamwalkers. Well, I've seen Dreamwalkers' children, but…**"

"**Oh, shut it**" replied Tom "**He's a Dreamwalker, just as old as we are, so what's the difference? He's not strange as you think**"

"**Tom, your father has said you have to come and welcome this kid. He said you're the best person who could do it**" said Sel'cral "**Manfred, if you please**"

"Just go" said Manfred shaking his head as Tom rushed to the door "I just hope Gabriel has not broken his glasses fighting Newton"

"What do you mean?" asked Tom turning

Why should Gabriel fight Newton, and break his glasses, and why Manfred had said it?

"Nothing, boy. Just go. They must be waiting for you"

_(Gabriel's POV)_

Peter and Da were leading the way, walking very fast. They seemed to be in a hurry to get to the Na'vi village. Norm and Gabriel stayed behind. Gabriel was feeling quite tired. It was just a fast walk, but he just felt like he was not used to.

"They had to come right today!" was protesting Norm "Why didn't they stay at home, with their dear skyscrapers and cars and airplanes?"

"What are skyscrapers, Norm?" panted Gabriel

"High buildings. Very high buildings. Some are as high as mountains. On Earth there are many"

"Why was Peter so scared? It was just a bang!"

"Hasn't your father ever explained you how did he find Peter?"

"Well… no"

"It was just after the Great Sorrow. He and a boy, Sel'cral, who was eight at the time, were at the old Hometree, the one that was destroyed by Quaritch's troops. They were trying to see if some branches of the tree could still be saved, also because we had an idea of what to do. I was with them. So, we were inspecting the tree, as Sel'cral said us he had heard someone crying. We started to knock on wood where Sel'cral had said he had heard the voice, and someone knocked back. At last, we found in the wood a gap large enough for Sel'cral to pass through, and he went looking for the child who was crying"

"He was Peter, wasn't he?"

"Well… yes. Sel'cral went out with him, he was still crying, the poor boy had to catch him and take him away. And a three-years-old toddler is no light load for a eight-years-old kid. Then, when he saw your father, he calmed down and started squealing 'sempu, sempu', and asking to be hold by him. Mo'at, Tom's grandmother, said that it was likely that Peter's real father looked a lot like yours… and in fact, there was sent a younger child in the hole, a six-years-old girl called Ha'sila, and she found a dead man, one from the Tipani clan, who somewhat looked like your da. Maybe he was one of the DNA donors for his avatar. No one remembered his name, or the child's name, but they had been surely trapped in a room, and only the child had survived, maybe because he had been somehow protected by his father. Peter has been in a battle, and, if he forgot his biological father and the dark room he was trapped in, he hasn't forgotten the bangs. He hasn't forgotten the bombs who took the tree down. It's for this he's afraid. He's afraid he'll lose his new family, too"

"But he's no child anymore. He can defend himself, now"

"Against bombs? There have been heavy casualties in the last battle, Gabriel. We can only hope the Sky People are not here to fight"

"David! Peter! You're back! You know, Manfred was starting to say strange things about Gabriel, and that Newton boy, and…" was saying a child's voice somewhere around. Da and Peter were out of sight, now.

"Yikes! Tom played hookey again!" said Norm slapping his forehead "This time he's in trouble, sure as death and taxes!"

"He's not in trouble, Norm!" someone came out of the green Da and Peter had vanished in "This time he's got the hall pass"

Norm laughed.

"Well, I just forgot that death and taxes are not so sure here, Jake" he commented

So that was Jake! It looked very different, yet very similar to the guy on the bench Gabriel had seen in the picture. But now, he had a different question for Norm.

"What are taxes?"

"Nothing… well, a thing Sky People have to pay on Earth. Here we have no money, so… no taxes. Understand?"

"And why death isn't sure?"

"Well, because it's not death – as the Sky People mean it" said Jake grinning

"So" said Norm pointing to Gabriel "I think you already met the young one down here. He caused Peter a lot of trouble, last year"

"Yeah, I remember" said Jake "So, hi boy. I don't remember your name. What did you tell it was?"

"I never introduced myself to you, sir" said Gabriel. He felt embarrassed. "Anyway, I'm Ga…"

"_Gabriel!_" shouted Tom jumping out of the bushes "Is that really you?"

They both started laughing with no apparent reason. Tom was really surprised, you could have seen it on his face, but he was also euphoric. He just seemed he was going to run around and shout "Yippee!" like nine-years-old Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars.

"Bloody hell" he commented "You all knew it… why didn't you tell me?"

He turned to his father.

"Why, Dad?"

"Because Sky People would call it surprise" said Jake smiling

"Yeah. Talking about Sky People" intervened Norm stepping forward with a serious look "Jake, when we were getting out of the Colony, we heard a sonic boom. I think it's them. And, another thing, we didn't see anything landing, so I suppose they…"

"They what, Norm?" asked Jake, a hint of fear in his voice

"They broke the light barrier. They were going past light speed"

_(Diego's POV)_

The forest outside the windows was amazing. Born and grown up in the grey and hot Madrid, Diego Seneca was just astonished.

He was with five more people in a room of the shuttle they had come in. Some of them were turning their computers on, hoping to send a message home.

There were the Martin siblings, Beatrice and Charles, who had left a brother in Great Britain. There was Alan Doyle, a twenty-five years old muscular boy, dressed in a soldier's outfit, who seemed to be calling his father. His companion, a gangly dark-haired soldier with scars on his face, was having a video conversation with his two children.

"Professor Seneca, I thought you had a son" said Florence Kay, a ginger-haired young woman who spoke very rarely

"Nah. Lucio's grown. He doesn't need his father to call him" replied Diego. He didn't want to talk about his son "And you, Florence? Any family?"

"My grandparents died some years ago" answered Florence "And my mother died when I was fifteen. I've got only my father, but he works all day long, so he won't answer"

"Sorry, young one. I didn't know"

"No, it's nothing, really. I didn't know her well, anyway. A man with a gun just thought she was a weight to the world. My father never got through it really, but he still teaches Organic Chemistry at Stanford. Me and his job are the only things making him walk on"

Alan closed up his computer.

"Hey, Phantom Pains" he said to his companion slapping him on his shoulders "Just remember we have to do the first steps on the moon"

"One moment, Ja--- Alan" said the tall soldier "Joe, Liz, see you tomorrow. Bye, kids"

"When will you ever learn my name, Karloff?" asked Alan in an exasperated tone "I don't think it's so hard to understand"

"I said you he's a moron" said Charles turning his chair and standing up

"Hey, you two snots" said the tall soldier standing up "You think I don't remember names? Well, you should start learning mine. Michel. M-I-C-H-E-L"

"Strange name, for a jarhead" commented Charles

"Well, jarheads, as you call them, may have every name their parents decided for them when they were born" intervened Beatrice "Even you, your name seems more the name of a philosopher rather than a botanist's"

"Who, Karl Marx?" asked Michel "That's right... Charles Martin, Karl Marx... nice name of yours, kid"

"I don't see the hammer and sickle" joked Alan

"Oh, shut it, you mass of muscles!" replied Charles

"You shut it, egghead!"

"Shut up both of you!" shouted Diego "You're grown-up men, not toddlers!"

Alan and Charles both got silent.

"Hallelujah" commented Diego launching himself on the nearest chair

"Professor Seneca?" a young soldier called from a nearby room "Parker Selfridge requested your presence"

"He could not find a worse moment... I just sat down!" protested Diego getting out of the room

The young soldier smiled sympathetically as he led Diego into Selfridge's room. There had been quickly put a desk in it, and there were three chairs around it.

On the first there was Selfridge, on the other one a dark-haired man Diego didn't recognize.

"Doctor Tyler Hudson, child psychologist" said the man

"Nice to meet you, sir. I'm professor Diego Seneca. I was used to teach Geology at Madrid University"

"Oh, so we're both from European countries. I'm Irish" said Tyler

That man didn't look so nice. All Diego wanted was to get back to his room.

"So, what's the matter?" he asked

"Well, since we left Pandora something else appeared on that planet" said Selfridge "Ever heard about artificial selection?"

"Kind of. I was no biologist"

"Well, if you send people with an high IQ and a good physical strength on a place where they are the only humans in light-years, they'll surely... well, have some brats"

"And so? It's natural. Even normal people would fall in love and have children"

"Yes. I do know that. But those are not your average kids. If a smart and strong couple has a child, the child will be smart and strong as his parents, if not even more. Among those kiddos, we could have the new Isaac Newton, James Watson and Marie Curie... adding the strength of an agonistic athlete! They are the perfect human race"

"Oh, Selfridge, please stop it. Not even Hitler could have thought so"

"No, Seneca, you don't understand. If we take these kids, and we enroll them to the best schools and universities on Earth, we might get a group of geniuses of the kind that is born once in a millennium. They could save the planet, if unobtanium won't"

"That's nonsense. Those kids need their parents. And anyway, Pandora's home for them. Why would they leave it?"

"Because there are things on Earth they won't find on that tiny satellite" said Selfridge pointing to a sealed cardboard box "And, Diego, your son Lucio made a really good job. With his hacking reports we know everything the human children on Pandora like and want"

Diego clenched his fists and did his best to stay calm. Lucio was the reason for him being there.

"We are going to do a survey on these children" said Hudson "So, if you meet them, do your best to get to know anything useful about them. We already know what they like, now we need to know everything about their life. Everything. Their relationship with their parents and their family on Earth, what do they think about the Na'vi, how good are they at school, stuff like that"

"All right" said Diego getting out of the room. He just wanted to punch all the teeth out of that businessman's and psychologist's mouths.

He had to find out everything about those kids so Selfridge would be able to turn them into mindless puppets like he had done with Lucio… maybe Selfridge just thought that, even if they were born on Pandora, those kids were just like the ones born and grown up on Earth.

He had only one possibility to save those kids. Prove the opposite.

_(Tom's POV)_

Tom could just not believe his eyes. The boy sitting next to him had Gabriel's voice, acted like Gabriel, and his hair and clothes quite looked like Gabriel's hairstyle and clothes, but…

He was as tall as he was, if not even more, he wore no specs and he seemed to see well, he had a tail and everything else, and he could be easily be recognized as David's son even without looking at him from a very close distance!

Everything was about to change now… he had his best friend next to him, and he just knew he was there to stay, this time.

He wanted to run around, jump and shout, but he didn't want to wake up the whole forest.

"When… when did you…?"

"About an hour ago"

"You seem to be moving quite well, as it's your first time. My dad said me that, his first day, he broke down half the lab and was on the point of falling down more than a time"

"Well, I've been training on stilts for a year. This is even easier than stilts. At least I don't have to do the dim-witted's dance to stand on my own"

"Dim-witted's dance?"

"All that stamping my feet"

"Dim-witted's dance, you say? Well, we could call the stilts this way when we explain that they are. I mean, there is no word in the language of the People to say stilts"

"And would you call them _dim-witted's dance_?"

"It's better than anything else. _Skxawngya sreu_. Hey, it also begins with the same letter of stilts!"

Gabriel laughed. Yeah, it was really him.

"So we named the stilts together! Hey, I never expected to create a word!"

"Well, there's a lot of things we could never expect, but in the end they come out. By the way, now you could teach me to play soccer properly. Did I say you Norm gave me a ball for my eleventh birthday?"

Gabriel still seemed a bit too clumsy, but he just needed to get used to it. Maybe a soccer match would just be the right thing to do.

"Well, it's not a bad idea" commented Gabriel "But I've never seen a lake, and I never learned to swim, so I'd like to go there first. Can you swim?"

"Well, of course I can. It's not so hard. Even Michael knows how to, and he's three"

"Michael… do you mean your brother?"

"Yeah. My pain-in-the-ass little bro. I just wonder when will he grow up a bit. He'll start school in a year or two, I think. By the way, I asked my dad to let him attend school earlier, so he won't start it when he'll already know everything. I don't want anyone to tease him"

"You love him, don't you?"

What did Gabriel say? He… love such a…?

"Don't do that face. I've got two siblings, Tom. I know what's it like. And Helena's a pain in the ass even if she's eleven like us. But yet I would never allow something bad to reach her, because **she's my sister and I love her**"

"Hey, did you speak…?"

Tom didn't know what Sky People called surprise, but it surely was stuff like that. He just felt… happy.

"Yeah, I did. But I know just a few words. Manfred taught me"

"_Manfred_?"

"Yeah, why?"

"That… that… well, no one likes Manfred down here! He doesn't know us well, for example he doesn't know I have to keep an eye on Michael and I don't have a lot of time to study… or to do my homework again when Michael scrabbles on my slate"

"Well, Manfred spends a lot of time with his children, at the Colony. He has three kids. Walter's eight but will turn nine in two months, Alison's five, and Deborah's two. Walter is in my class… or former class, I should say"

"Huh. So he has a family. That explains a lot of things"

"Norm has no family. At the Colony, most of the kids hardly know him. Today's lesson was the proof"

They were crossing a rather recently-grown part of the forest. Dad had told Tom those trees were grown just after the battle.

"What place is this?" asked Gabriel "It's quite… strange. You can see the sky from here"

"Yeah. That's the Sky Clearing" explained Tom "This place was just like all the forest around, until the war. Some bombs were dropped here, burning down the trees. Then, after the Great Sorrow, some of the Sky People were buried here. I mean, not the bad Sky People. The ones who died helping the People in the battle. Like… have you ever heard of Grace Augustine?"

"Well, of course I have"

"She was the teacher in the school before Norm. Some of the young hunters still remember her. They say she was the best ever. Norm says she should have lived to teach me"

"Why? You speak English as well as I do!"

"Not English. Manners. Norm always says she made my dad walk the line"

"He has a point"

"Hey!"

"Friends do criticize, Tom. The ones who don't are no friends of yours. By the way, Norm also says you're having a bad influence on me"

Tom couldn't help to laugh.

"Well, my father is to blame. He taught me how to swear" he commented "So, this means that Grace's was no good job"

They both laughed.

"Is there anyone else?" asked Gabriel

"Well… of course. Grace's the only one whose passing through Eywa's eye failed. Under the biggest tree there are some humans. Never had a dreamwalker body, yet they fought, and gave their lives, to defend this land. I've seen Norm standing under that tree a lot of times. Then there are three former Dreamwalkers, their former bodies are under the ground, but they aren't with Eywa yet. When you try to listen, you hear no voice. But… sometimes… I've heard a voice"

"A voice? Whose?"

"Dunno. It seemed my dad's, but my dad is here. And it was quite… well, different. It was more… calm. No swearing. I've never talked to anyone about that, they would consider me crazy"

Gabriel looked thoughtful, and started rubbing his chin with a hand.

"Mr. Bruno said your father had a brother. You had an uncle. Didn't you?"

"Never known him. And Dad doesn't talk about him very often. I don't even know his name"

"Can I try to guess? In my opinion he was called Thomas, like you. Or, to be correct, you were called after him. Mr. Bruno says he died on Earth, and he was going to come here. Then, your father was sent in his place. So, they must have had identical DNA. Twins. Identical twins"

"You know a lot of stuff about twins"

"Well, I know what I've heard. For example, Helena and I are _fraternal _twins. That's how you say it when twins are different. We can be called twins just because we were born the same day, but in practice we are just coetaneous siblings. Identical twins is a different matter. It's just like if a single baby decides to become two people"

"So, the voice I heard is my uncle's?"

"I can't say it. You should tell your father"

"Come on, now. Let's go to swim"

------------------

_**The plot starts thickening! What is going to happen, now?**_

_**I leave you, with a promise: in next chapter I'll put Jake's POV!!! ^-^**_

_**From next chapter: "A special case"**_

_**Michael just looked more like him at his age. Even if Tom had a bad temper and did not like rules, he was also kind of a thoughtful boy, and had a quick wit. Michael, on the other side, looked just like a normal, ducky Na'vi tot, but was an imp.**_


	6. A special case

Chapter 5

A special case

_(Gabriel's POV)_

Gabriel had never seen so much water, all in a spot. That was just amazing.

At the Colony, water usually meant shower, and most of the boys just didn't like it.

When his family was still in a single room, Gabriel had spent many hours arguing with Mum about the shower. The arguments always ended with him being pushed into the bathroom and a lot of cold water on his head (there wasn't hot water since eight months before Gabriel's birth, and anyway, who needed it? It was already warm enough out there!).

That place just looked magical. It was nothing like the pictures Serge had taken. It was a lot better.

"Nice place, isn't it?" asked Tom "When the day is sunny like this, you can even see yourself in the water"

"Really?"

"Just try, shortie!"

"Hey, who's short now?" replied Gabriel raising his hand at his head's level. It was a bit over Tom's head, maybe half a inch.

"Crap" commented Tom

Gabriel got closer to the shore, and he saw something on the water. He nearly jumped back when the face he saw surely wasn't the one he had been used to see when he passed near a mirror.

_What a fool I am… it's me!_

He got closer and looked again. It was definitely him. His same smile, his same look and his same mess of a hair… at least, on the front. The main difference, at least for him, was the lack of glasses. He really felt a different person without them.

"Well, when I met you I didn't expect you to be like that if you weren't born at the Colony. By the way, you look _a lot_ like your father." said Tom "And I bet some of the girls will just stare at you, without the specs-thing and the scabs and those red spots you have you look quite handsome"

"If some of the girls will stare at me, it will be because I'll make a fool of myself"

"Don't say it. You won't make a skxawng of yourself"

"If you say so…"

"I'm not just saying it. I'll lend you a hand. You must not, first, think you'll be ridiculous. That's starting with the wrong foot. You have to show them who are you really. Gain their respect"

"And have you ever gained it? Don't they call you nerd?"

"They gave up when I played hookey last time"

"And when was last time?"

"Last year. The very day I met you. They were so… how can I say it? Surprised? I met a Sky People kid, they started asking questions. And when Dad allowed me to go to the Colony, it just got better and better. I was no more the kid who was the best in the class without studying. I was the one who was allowed out of the borders"

A girl's voice came from the foliage, Gabriel recognized the words "Thomas" and "**you should not**", but nothing else.

"What...?" he asked Tom as a girl come out of the forest

"**Ilyana, speak English! Gabriel doesn't understand!**" shouted Tom to the girl "She said I should not boast to newcomers" he explained then

"I am no newcomer" said Gabriel to the girl called Ilyana "I've already been around here before. And Tom does know me, we've already met. I'm Gabriel, by the way"

"I see you. I'm Ilyana and I'm eight-and-three"

"You should say _eleven_, Ily. In English we count on base ten!" replied Tom "Anyway, Gabriel's eleven, too"

Seven more kids, four boys and three girls, reached the shore of the lake. They were all looking at Gabriel in a strange way, the same way Helena and Austin and his former class had looked at Peter the previous year.

"**So that's him**" said a tall boy stepping forward

"**Just talk to me, I'm here and I'm listening!**" replied Gabriel

The tall boy chuckled. He looked quite surprised.

"I am Wir'em" he said "I'm eight-and-four... I mean... twelve"

"Yeah, yeah, he's the oldest boy in the class and blah, blah, blah. These two are Ateyo and Txur'itan, they're brothers. Ateyo is eleven and Txur'itan is ten. The girls are Anilra, Leyra and Marali. And that fatty over there is Raltawyu. _He_ always makes a fool of himself" said Tom pointing to the kids he spoke about "Ladies and gentlemen, this is our new classmate Gabriel" he added talking to the kids

"**Just let him talk to us, we're here and we're listening**" replied Txur'itan

"O.K., O.K., you speak" said Tom to Gabriel "Just watch out for the girl who first came here. She _bites_"

"**I've heard you, Tom!**" said Ilyana slapping him heavily

"What did I say you?" commented Tom rubbing his cheek "She _does_ bite"

He got another smack on his face.

"**As you are his friend,** **I hope you're not like him**" said Ilyana to Gabriel

"**Well, I'm quite different**"

"**You look like David**" intervened Raltawyu getting close

"**Of course I do. He's my father**" answered Gabriel smiling "**Yes, there's not only Peter. There are also me and my sister**"

"He… O.K., then" said Wir'em "So, welcome in our class"

_(at last XP… Jake's POV)_

"So, what happened, exactly? You just heard the noise, and you saw no spaceship?"

"Exactly. Peter got scared to death, by the way"

"Well, that boy has really seen too much in his first three years. Too much for a whole lifetime"

"I know. I've been his teacher. But David has really done a good job with him. He really was the right person to act as his father… he just seemed to understand everything Peter went through"

"Well, David has always been an understanding person" commented Jake "Do you remember… the bench? The day before we went to the mountains"

He wanted to laugh. He just remembered how pissed he was when David had said "Okay guys, fetch a chair, I'll sit down", and four members of the team had come with that small bench. David had understood the very reason for he had not wanted to be pictured, and, without saying it, he had made the others understand.

"Tonight we have to speak about this Sky People matter. To everyone. It's useless, doing it now between the two of us"

Norm nodded. He still looked a lot like the funny-faced scientist he had met his first day on Pandora.

"So, you have met Gabriel. What do you think about him?"

"He seems all right. I just hope the kids won't bother him too much"

"Well, he's a calm boy. He won't poke anyone until someone attacks him first"

"There was a friend of mine who behaved like that, at the school. His name was Michel. Tallest and strongest boy in the class, but he preferred using his strength catching leather balls a moment before they hit a net"

"Soccer, wasn't it? Your brother told me you both played in a team"

"Before we decided to part our ways, yes, we did. Number four and number five. Michel was goalkeeper in the same team. We made our school team win for many years"

"I bet Michel signed in a professional team when you ended high school"

_We both would have wanted to, Norm. But there was something much more important than a cup to fight for._

"You just lost the bet. He became a soldier, too. An artificer. And he lost his eyesight in war, trying to defuse a bomb. I saw it happening, Norm, I was hurt too, in that explosion"

_He just remembered that foggy night, the night in which they had tried to go out of the camp without saying to anyone where they were going and clear the way for the rest of the army._

_He just remembered Michel's voice, murmuring "I can do that, Jake. Just trust me. And hold that flashlight"_

_He just remembered the bang when the bomb partly exploded. If Michel had not started defusing it, they would have died. Both._

_Then, all he remembered were his dreams of flying. Waking in a hospital bed. Michel in the bed next to his, a bandage on his face, covering his eyes._

_The feeling something terrible had happened. Something, that day, had been terribly wrong._

_That day had been the end of a friendship that had been lasting for years._

"Was it his fault?" asked Norm "If you got hurt?"

"I thought so. I shouted at him as soon as they allowed me out of bed. Not even Tommy, who had arrived there after a few days, managed to calm me down. After some years, thinking back at the episode, I realized the bomb would have been worse, a lot worse, if Michel had not cut some of the wires. He saved us both, and I had blamed him for letting the bomb explode, when it was not his fault at all. And yet… I didn't know where he was gone. I didn't know how to find him. I just knew he started again from scratch. I was going to ask Tommy if he knew where did he move, when he was killed"

"Well, you started again from scratch, too, and look at what you have become! Maybe if he walked right here, in this very moment, you'd both smile remembering that awful day. And… if I'm allowed to ask, this Michel is little Michael's namesake, isn't he?"

"Well… he is. It was the only thing I could do for my old friend. And anyway, he just can't walk there in this very moment. Who could possibly want a poor blind man to come here?"

"Don't forget they sent you"

"I was… a special case"

"Daddy, Daddy?" asked a voice somewhere behind Jake

"Michael? What are you doing down here?" asked Jake turning

"Mum told me **you wewe hewe**"

"You're far too small to wander around, do you know?"

"But I was alone…"

He started looking at him with a peculiar expression, in which Jake recognized his own when, at the age of four, he had broken a window playing soccer in his room and his father had found it out.

"All right, I forgive you… this time"

Michael just looked more like him at his age. Even if Tom had a bad temper and did not like rules, he was also kind of a thoughtful boy, and had a quick wit. Michael, on the other side, looked just like a normal, ducky Na'vi tot, but was an imp. There had been many times Jake had had to scold him because he had pulled his brother's tail (or worse, queue), or had scrabbled on Tom's slate, or had chewed something, or had been wandering alone.

Tom had already been quite a problem when he had started school, so what was Michael going to do, in two years?

"Grace would say he took a lot after you" commented Norm as Jake picked Michael up

"Who's Gwace?" asked Michael

"A friend of ours. She's with Eywa, now" answered Norm

"And why?"

Both Norm and Jake stayed silent. How to explain a three-years-old tot all the story? How to explain the universe was not the patch of heaven he was growing up in? How to explain there were bad people who killed without reason?

"It's a long story, little one. I'll tell you when you grow up" said Jake patting him gently

"But I am gwowing up!"

"Not enough, it seems. When you will be adult"

"But it's too faw..."

"Just wait, okay? You'll be grown up before you realize it"

"Okay" said Michael laying his head on Jake's shoulder

"I think we should go and see how does Gabriel get along with the class" said Norm "And, anyway, I should restart teaching. I don't think the kids appreciate Manfred's presence"

"Tom awways says Manfwed is a ass-head" commented Michael

Norm chuckled.

"I don't think Manfred should hear it. I'm afraid he just gave hell to the poor boy without knowing it"

"Know what?" asked Manfred coming from the path leading to the school

"That it really was Michael's fault if Thomas didn't show his homework" said Norm pointing to the little boy

"I'm sowwy" said Michael hiding his face "I won't do it again"

"You should apologize to your brother, you troublemaker" said Manfred "I should have expected it, Jake. I've got three urchins, but they don't do all this mess, luckily" then he added

"Can we go and look fow Tom?" asked Michael "Pweease. I'll say sowwy to him"

"All right, let's go" answered Jake putting Michael on the ground "Norm, Manfred, we'll talk about the matter tonight. I'll go and see what the kids are doing"

"I'm coming with you" said Norm "They'll be happy to see me again… did I mention you they call me Uncle Norm?"

"At least _a million times_"

_(Austin's POV)_

Austin just could not have imagined an afternoon could be so long. He had always thought afternoons were too short, indeed.

The hangar looked deserted, surely because of the morning brawl. Newt had not gotten out of his room, and the remaining boys had not gathered for the usual soccer match.

Gabriel was still in the link bed, and the sun was going to set. Or Alpha Centauri, or whatever it was. It was a star, wasn't it? It shone during the day, didn't it? So it was a sun.

He had tried to pass his time playing basketball alone, but it wasn't fun at all. He had spotted some of the boys in the hallways, but they looked just like puppets with cut strings. Or avatars without drivers. Or Na'vi without Eywa. Their leader had been defeated, and they were confused. What were they going to do, now? Agree with Gabriel? Find a new leader? He didn't know.

"Hey, Austin?"

"Helena!" said Austin turning around and dropping the ball "I bet you're looking for your bro"

"I am. He didn't return, not even at lunchtime"

"Well, now he's an avatar driver, he's supposed to stay out all day"

"All day? But Da didn't…"

"I know, but he surely did it for you two. Now he's got to mind Gabriel out there, they can stay there full-time"

"I already miss him"

"What about a match? I mean, we're both alone, so…"

"Okay"

Austin picked up the ball and started bouncing it, then he passed it to Helena… who just kept it.

"What's up, Helena? Can't you play basketball?"

She shook her head.

"All right, I'll teach you. Just… you have to keep the ball bouncing or you can't do more than three steps. Then you have to pass, or to try to score. And make sure you…"

Newton had always said girls were a pain in the neck. How could he say it? He surely had not known Helena. And, by the way, Newton had a sister, too. What was _he_ supposed to do? He was the only child in his family. He would have given _anything_ to have a sibling. Even a sister.

And Helena… was special. She was an understanding person, just like her father. Just… a little more.

Austin just didn't know what it was, but he felt sick when he was alone in the same room she was in. And yet, he liked that feeling. He wanted to be with her. He was happy when he made her happy.

Even if she asked him to walk on his hands, he would have done it, even just to make her laugh.

He didn't know what was _that_, and he didn't want to ask anyone, not yet, but he just wanted it to last.

"Gabriel just keeps saying you're one of the best friends he ever met" commented Helena "He's really happy. I mean… I never saw him so glad since we were eight"

"It's not all because of me" replied Austin. If he had had the same skin tone of all the other kids, he would surely have turned pink "There's also Thomas. I didn't do anything he had not already done"

"Hi, guys" said someone entering the hangar. Austin recognized one of Newt's former sidekicks, Adrian Annakin, the youngest of them.

He still attended the little kids' class, as he was seven, and always looked as he was seeing something far, far away. Helena just called him sleepwalker, playing on his surname a pun Austin just didn't understand.* For everyone else, he was just Ryan, or Ani, depending on who was calling him.

"Hi, Ryan" said Austin waving "Want to play?"

"Me… I…" stuttered Adrian "Just wanted to know where Gabriel is. Terry Patel says he's become an avatar driver, and Neil Yates said he beat up Newton"

"Well, if he's an avatar driver as you think, this is the wrong place to look for him" said Helena in a hard tone "What do you want, sleepwalker?"

Adrian looked at his leather sandals and swallowed, his hands twitching on his shirt. He was surely embarrassed.

"I just wanted to say sorry" he said, looking Helena into her eyes "We all were wrong. We all believed the People out there were the aliens. But we are. I don't want to be an alien anymore. I… I am apologizing for everyone"

"Ryan, you should not say this to us" said Austin in an understanding tone "These are words for David, Norm, Manfred… the adults, I mean. And for Gabriel, too, cause he's an avatar driver. I think you should look for the adults in the Compound and apologize to them. And then, if you want to, you can come back and play with us"

Adrian smiled.

"All right, I will" he resolved turning and going back into the hallway where he went from.

After what seemed two seconds, somewhere around, a speaker made a loud noise. It was dinner time.

"At last" commented Helena "This afternoon time just seemed to have frozen. Do you think Gabriel will be in the canteen?"

"I don't think so. Would you go to bed when the sun's still setting but night has not fallen yet?"

"Well, of course not. Only babies do it"

"And that's what Gabriel would do, too. He won't be waiting for us in the canteen. So, I think we'd better get some more food and leave it in his room, so he won't be hungry"

"All right, I'll do it"

They left the ball and started walking in the hallways leading to the canteen.

That was quite a good moment. Now or never…

"Helena, do you want to sit next to me? I mean, now your brother isn't here…"

_(David's POV)_

Being there every day, David had almost forgotten what a show was the sky when the sun – Alpha Centauri – disappeared at the horizon to shine on the other half of the satellite, and Polyphemus just started glowing like the Moon once did when he looked at it from Earth.

The stars, up there, were starting to show themselves, so close in the sky it would have seemed possible to touch them just raising a hand.

"Whoa" was commenting Gabriel looking up

"That's what I thought, too, when I first came out here" said David patting his son on his shoulder "My path, anyway, was much more difficult. After my first time in my avatar, I had to wait for more than three years before the Omaticaya accepted me. And it wasn't even because of my behavior. It was because of…"

"Of Peter, I know. Why is it easier for me? I mean, I am no better than you"

"Well, it's because of me, to tell the truth. I am one of them, and so are you by right of birth. And Helena is, too. Just, she isn't ready to come here. Not yet"

"Well, you can bet on it. Will she be the next?"

"Oh, no. I think the next will be Austin. Well, he already has an avatar. He has it since he was born"

"Since he was… no, it's impossible. An avatar needs an year to…"

"His avatar just grew up with him. You know, his parents are both avatar drivers, and both have been accepted easily in the clan because of their hard work after the war. They could be proven worthy to pass through Eywa's eye even now, as we are speaking. That's why Austin is the only child. He was quite an accident, in fact. They do want more kids, but they don't dare as they don't want to leave them alone. When they will pass through Eywa's eye, Austin will already be here as an avatar driver"

"And have they ever explained this to Austin?"

"No, as they want him to live a normal childhood. They don't want him to waste his days thinking he'll go away, someday. They just want him to have friends, study, have fun, and, if he stays in the Colony enough, even get a girlfriend"

Gabriel smiled. David could just understand him, he had been really happy when, about twenty years before, had discovered Serge was coming to Pandora in his cousin Sebastien's place. Well, that had not been a very nice thing, anyway. Sebastien had been arrested for drug detention, just the day after his DNA samples had been taken. Selfridge had just ordered Sebastien's samples to be replaced by Serge's, and that was the story. When he had arrived, Serge had told David the whole story stunk as a skunk's ass. And they just had started having more suspicions when a former friend of theirs, Tom Sully, who they had known at the RDA office on Earth, had been shot dead weeks before his departure and in his place there was a carbon copy, paraplegic, moody _jarhead_!

Serge had been much more tactful than Grace, obviously. He had only said those things to David, in their room, when everyone else slept. And then, he had said that he was not blaming Jake, because he came from a sort of similar situation and he was even lucky because no one in his family had died. He was just going to denounce the whole situation to the FBI (he thought that the murder was not just a case) when the very Jake had given to the Team and to the People the chance to get rid of Selfridge and Quaritch forever. As they were formally declared outlaws, Serge had given up his aims of justice, but he had kept on e-mailing his hypothesis to Sebastien.

"So, how was your day?"

"Great! Do you know Tom and I taught soccer to the whole class? We also had a match. The girls played, too. I mean, Tom was not going to let them play, but Ilyana…"

"Just started smacking him, I know" said David "She always does poke the boys when they do something of that kind. Norm says Wir'em rules over the boys, but Ilyana rules over Wir'em"

"Tom says she bites"

"Well, both sentences can be proven true"

"And I also told them a story. You know, that story of Aeneas and the Trojan warriors who travel to Latium. Tom says I'm surely going to become a storyteller. He says I've got it in blood"

"Well, I know you like stories. Maybe, who knows, that's what you'll become. Just one thing… Sky People call them writers"

"Writer, storyteller… what does it matter?"

"It will matter in some years. When your voice will change and you'll start looking at girls like you never did before. And… in your human body, you'll have to shave. When those days will come, you will have to choose if you will become a storyteller" and he put his hands on his shoulders "… or a writer" and he pointed to the direction where the Colony was.

They were in the Hometree clearing. The place was quite close to the Colony, and a kelutrel younger than the one Quaritch had ordered to be destroyed had been used as a settlement since some months after the war. It was still very simple, but it was a nice place, and nearly everyone liked it.

People who had not found a place to live in the tree had been assigned in some huts around the roots. Among them there were avatar drivers, or former avatar drivers, and in some cases their families, who were the ones who could live there easily as they were more used to sleep under a man-made roof. On some surrounding trees, David had built some swings with old tires found in the Colony's storehouse. Most of the kids liked them a lot, and, in fact, some of them were playing on them.

Gabriel looked at the sky again, then fell silent.

"I don't want to go to bed" he said in a sad voice

And that was the old problem. Bedtime, as the shower, had always been a battle with Gabriel. He had always stayed in front of the laptop or reading his books for hours before he was forced to bed, and the situation had gotten just worse when they had moved and Gabriel stayed alone in his room until late before he arrived.

"Gabriel, please don't have these tantrums. You're eleven years old, remember? When it's bedtime, it's bedtime"

"I know, but… I also know I will wake up in the link room and all of this…" he pointed to everything around him, and then to himself "will just look like a beautiful dream"

Oh. So, it was no tantrum. He just was afraid of… waking up.

"You've still got tomorrow" he reassured his son "The night will be gone sooner than you imagine it. And you can stay awaken for some time, if you want to. Let's say… at half past one, in our room, bed. Okay?"

"Half past one?" asked Gabriel, astonished

"And if this is not enough… well, follow me. I've got something to show you"

They went out of the clearing where the Omaticaya had found a new Hometree and walked until David found a rope, hanging from the trees.

"Okay, you go first" he said his son "Come on, climb"

Gabriel got the rope in his hands and raised his feet, then he pulled himself up. His feet closed on the rope, gripping it tightly. He pulled himself again. And again. Until he disappeared in a trapdoor up in what seemed a wooden ceiling.

"Are you there?" David asked him

"Yeah!"

"All right, I'm coming" said David starting to climb the rope. He went through the trapdoor and then he lifted himself up putting his hands on the wooden floor.

Gabriel was looking around him, excited. He surely liked what he saw.

There were huts made of scrap metal and wood, most of them made out of old link shacks, with a soccer field painted in the middle, a hoop on the wall of a hut, and some swings.

"Welcome to the New Colony" David said his son "This is the place we'll move to when the Sky Colony won't be good anymore"

"But this is… it's just great, Da! Who thought about this?"

"I did. Has Tom ever told you about the day I got my tail under a rafter?"

"He tried to once, but I interrupted him. He still didn't know who I was"

"Well, we… Norm, Serge, Gerald, Lewis, Manfred and I… were building this when the accident happened" explained David raising his shoulders "As soon as the… well, the Sky People… get too close, we'll leave the Colony forever"

Gabriel looked around again, then sat on the edge of the platform.

"Newt says we should not be enemies, as they're human like us" he commented "He said we have not a Mother cause we never had her. And we only got a Father who's in the sky"

"Oh, yeah. _Our Father, thou art in heaven…_ it's a prayer a lot of humans know since childhood. If Newton really believes in God, he should not hate the People. Gabriel, there really is someone up there, someone who's speaking to us… but it's not important who we believe he, or she, is. It just matters we follow the rules"

"What rules?"

"Be a good person. Respect others. Respect life. Treat everyone as you would treat yourself. It's not that easy, but it's not hard as it seems. Sky People just have forgotten it, that's why Earth is dying. That's why we're here. When we came here, some of us recognized we were wrong. And we tried to be human again. Not Sky People. Human. Again. And, in most of our cases, our families on Earth understood us. I mean, don't your cousins call you every day, asking how's your life, trying to be like you? It's not much, but it's a start. If everyone knew… if everyone cared… Earth, or _Gaia_, as the Ancient Greeks called her, would live again"

_*** Helena's pun can be understood easily, if you know one of the main characters in Star Wars is called Anakin Skywalker. So, if that Anakin is Skywalker, Ryan Annakin is… a sleepwalker!!!**_

_**As last Sunday was Easter, I think it's time for an Easter egg!**_

_**So, a few words about some characters...**_

_**Gabriel: As you will see in the following chapters, he's left-handed. His avatar is, too. His name? Well, if you have ever seen the movie "Mission", one of the main characters is called Gabriel. His middle name, John, is taken from the Peter Pan books (David's idea XD)**_

_**Austin: He appeared first in the third chapter of the Italian version of this fanfiction. He's been called after Grace Augustine. In my original idea, he was a brown-haired boy who at the beginning was one of Newt's sidekicks but changed his mind when he met Thomas. Before publishing the Italian version, he become a dark-skinned, kind boy, crazy about sports.**_

_**Helena: Her full name is Helena Wendy Locke. She's ginger-haired like her father (in the original plot was brown-haired), and she lives alone with her mother. You already know Austin's got a crush on her, but what you should know is that... oops, I wrote too much!**_

_**David: His avatar's tail is crooked. It is since the day he got it stuck under a rafter. Then Jake helped him out. That's why Tom remembers it so well. He is the third of four children (a girl and three boys).**_

_**Newton and Laura: Newton can play a mouth organ, and he always tries to forget his mother. He's afraid of being kidnapped by the People.**_

_**Laura has never seen her mother, but she would like to. She's very curious, maybe too much, in her brother's opinion.**_

_**From next chapter: "Stowaway soul"**_

"_**So you met Jake Sully… the Jake Sully"**_

"_**He's not that special, he's just another adult"**_

"_**Oh come on! You aren't going to say me you don't know he's Toruk Macto! He tamed a Great Leonopteryx, dude! Do you..."**_

"_**I do know he's Toruk Macto. I do know what's a Great Leonopteryx. And I also know you're making a mountain out of a molehill!"**_


	7. Stowaway soul

_**Just a thing, before starting: the play "Before the Sun Sets", in which I imagine the Sully twins acted, is about a circus (in reality, heaven) where the new artists always jump out of a box. In Jake's distorted "vision" you'll read about in this chapter the balloons are the souls and the boxes the bodies. The big box is an avatar (Jake's).**_

Chapter 6

Stowaway soul

_(Tom's POV)_

"Dad, I have something to tell you"

"Later, Tom. Something has happened today. It just seems Sky People are back, and I have to discuss about this with…"

"It's about _Uncle Thomas_"

Dad stepped back and looked like if he had swallowed a stone.

"Who told you…?"

"Gabriel did. He thinks it was his name. Was it?"

"It was. You were called after him"

"How did Gabriel guess, in your opinion? He told me he was just doing an hypothesis"

"Well, your friend Gabriel seems to have a wit as quick as a shuttle"

"A shut toll? What is it?"

"I said a shuttle. A _tawsìp_"

"Oh. That's right. A shut-tle you say? And how much can it be fast?"

"Well, consider it took me here, and it's a long, long way from Earth to Pandora"

"How long?"

"Longer than you can ever imagine it"

It was the right moment. If he knew well Dad, now he had surely forgotten the Sky People matter.

"How did he die? I mean, my uncle"

"I don't know what exactly happened, also because I was in a different place that day. I just know a bad man killed him because he wanted to take his money"

"Take his money?"

What was money, and why someone would want to take someone else's money?

"Well, that's a crazy thing Sky People have. It… well, represents things they can get. They need money to get food, to stay in a house, to get proper stuff. The problem is, some of them just have too much of it, while someone else hasn't enough of it, not even to live. You know, once I was even hurt, and no one wanted to cure me because I had not enough of that fu… of that money!"

That was the biggest bullshit Tom had ever heard. No healer had wanted to cure Dad… because of that stupid money matter? What did they have in their heads… piss, maybe? Dad had really seemed angry about that.

"But that's another story. A rather long one" resolved Dad "You want to know about your uncle, so…"

"No way, Dad. I want to know everything. It doesn't matter if it's a long story. You once told me that on Earth accidents may not be accidents. Was your story one of those?"

Dad looked again as he had swallowed a stone.

"Gabriel's hypothesis?" he asked

"No. Mine." replied Tom clenching a fist

"Well, if Gabriel's wit is as quick as a shuttle, yours is not second"

"Irayo"

"Just remember _you wanted it_" said Dad becoming serious "It's not a nice story to be told… or heard"

"I'm brave, Dad. I'm not a little child anymore"

"All right, because this is not a children's tale. You know, since I was old as Michael is now, I had a friend called Michel…"

"Michel? It just seems too similar to Michael, to me. Was the little imp called after him?"

"He was. When we finished school… on Earth, school finishes when you are eighteen… we started the path to become warriors. He was way better than me. They trained him to defuse bombs. And he was very good at it. Well, one night we decided to go to the battlefield without telling anything to anyone… to clear the way for a possible battle. We found some sentinels, some bombs… I took care of the sentinels, and Michel started defusing the bombs put there to explode as we passed. He found a particularly hard one, one that our intelligence never discovered… well, intelligence is…"

"I know what intelligence is. Gabriel mentioned me about it once when he told me a story"

"Well, we didn't know what it was, but Michel tried to defuse it anyway. He was doing quite a good job, but the bomb partly exploded and we both got badly hurt. The only thing I remember after it is that I was in a bed and I could not stand anymore"

"It just seems like the story of Nisus and Euryalus. But their story ended with both of them dying"

"Nisus and Euryalus?"

"A story Gabriel told the whole class this very morning. I mean, it was part of a bigger story, but the point is that those two very close friends, close like brothers, cross the enemy field to warn their commander, Aeneas, but they are both killed as they try to slay the sleeping enemies…"

"Oh, yeah, Aeneas. Heard about him at school. A legend about a city being founded"

"And what about this Michel now? Did he… did he die?"

"No, but his eyes were severely damaged. He lost his sight. I thought I had been the one who had been hurt more badly, and I thought it was his fault and…"

"You fought, and you were no friends anymore" anticipated Tom

That was a fate far worse than death. At least, in Gabriel's story, Nisus had been able to reunite with his friend, coming back to their Mother. When Txur'itan had asked who that Mother was, Gabriel had said he thought she was called Gaia. They had come back to Gaia, together. Maybe Dad and Michel just could not have gone to her because she was dead. Or just because Gaia was a little bit alive and she thought their time was not come yet.

Ending a friendship, that would surely hurt more than death. If there was no reconciling before coming back into the nothing and everything… there would surely not have been after, if Dad was to go to Eywa and Michel to Gaia when their time was going to come.

"I'll never argue with Gabriel for such a stupid thing like 'whose is the fault'" he said "He's my friend. I don't want to lose him…"

He was going to say "like you did", but he just felt ashamed doing so.

"Like I did?" Dad anticipated him "Don't be ashamed of saying that. I really hope you do better than me. As my father… your grandfather… would have said, the only good apprentice is the one who beats his master"

"And by the way, talking about your family… our family… I heard a voice. In the Sky Clearing. And I think it's _him_. I think it's Uncle Thomas"

_(Gabriel's POV)_

Around him, it was just dark. It just seemed like his bunk, but it was not his bunk.

_Where the hell did I fall asleep?_

He tried to move, and his hands clashed against something over him. He pushed more, and the thing lifted.

"At last! I thought you were going to be stuck there all night long!" Austin's voice rang in his ears.

"Where am I? I just remembered falling asleep"

"Wake up buddy! You just got out of your link!" said Austin shaking his fingers in front of his face "And, by the way, George made you a new pair of specs, they're on that desk over there"

"George's always kind" commented Gabriel standing up "I wonder who did Newt take after"

"His mother?"

Gabriel picked up his new glasses. They were very different from his first pair: if his first specs were a piece of iron wire with two lenses, these were surely more complicated, as they had no wires but rubber straps, and more rubber around the lenses. They had surely been made with the remains of a useless exopack. Those would not be going to break, or to hurt him behind his ears.

"I don't think so. I've met her, today. When I said her Newt was such a rotter, she was very, really sorry. She got happy when I talked about Laura, anyway"

"Oh, and by the way, Ryan Annakin apologized to us. He said he doesn't want to be an alien. What shall we do?"

Gabriel, who was putting his glasses on, froze. Yeah, what would he have done with him? The day before, he would have happily invited him to sit at his table in the canteen and talk a bit, then take him to watch the classes Norm, Manfred and Gerald had taught him.

"Now it's your turn, Austin" he said his friend "You have seen me around with the team. You know what's going on. You'll talk to Ryan, we'll see together what to do. And I'll make Da talk to Ryan's mother"

Austin nodded, then yawned.

"You've been the only one getting out, and it's quite late" he said, pointing to a series of links which were still on

"Yeah, I didn't see my Da coming when I went to bed. Peter said he was talking to Jake about an important matter"

"So you met Jake Sully… _the_ Jake Sully"

"He's not that special, he's just another adult"

"Oh come on! You aren't going to say me you don't know he's Toruk Macto! He tamed a Great Leonopteryx, dude! Do you..."

"I do know he's Toruk Macto. I do know what's a Great Leonopteryx. And I also know you're making a mountain out of a molehill!"

He stopped for a moment.

"I'm just Gabriel. You're just Austin. He's just Jake. Or Mr. Jake, as you want to call him. I mean… we all eat, sleep and use the toilet! And who knows? One day, we might be heroes, too"

"Yeah, me. Just look at me, who would see a hero in me?"

"Did you see in me what I've become? Let's just stop it now, Austin. By the way, heroes only come out in times of sorrow… so, we'd better hope we never meet one at work"

"My father always says Jake made the Team see. Then, there was the war. It also got here, inside. Sky People against Na'vi, outside. Scientists against miners and soldiers, inside"

"I do know. It's been when Grace died. Do you remember? Mr. Bruno showed us a photo of her this very morning"

Austin yawned again.

"I just can't wait for my parents to come back" he commented "At this time, usually, one of them is already here. I'm afraid something has happened"

"I am, too. And I think I also know what's happened. Have you heard that bang, this morning?"

Austin nodded.

"It's the Sky People. They're back"

"Sky People--- back--- no, it can't be! No, no, I don't want them to come here! My parents are both on their black list!"

Gabriel thought it would have been fun playing a pun on RDA's "black list", but that was a serious thing. And anyway, Da surely was on the black list, too, even if his hair was ginger.

"Calm down, Austin. We have our parents. We have our friends. We have George, Barbara, Lewis and all the others. We have _Jake_, and maybe the Leonopteryx will come back if he needs it. We'll help each other and drive them away like we did last time!"

"Last time, we were not born"

"Peter was"

Austin still looked terrified, even after Gabriel's words. In fact, Gabriel was afraid, too. All that matter just could have meant him being taken away from his parents, maybe to an orphanage on Earth. And that was the best hypothesis. They could also want to kill them.

That was why he was afraid to go to bed. He was afraid of _tomorrow_. And he just did not want to tell it Da.

He wanted to grow up outside, and become a storyteller, and stay there forever, telling his stories every night. And maybe, even becoming a teacher like Norm.

"I'm going to talk to Al and Ned" he said "Maybe they know something about this stinky mess"

"Al and Ned?"

"Alfred and Edmund Locke. My cousins. Older than me. They live on Earth. They are all right, anyway. They don't like what miners used to do here. I'm going in my room. You can come with me if you want"

"All right, just a second"

He got a piece of paper and a marker and he quickly wrote down "FOR MAMA AND PAPA. I'M WITH GABRIEL IF YOU LOOK FOR ME. AUSTIN"

"Okay, we can go now" he said

_(Jake's POV)_

"So, you were here some months ago. You tried to see what happened if you linked your queue to this tree over here. And you heard a voice. Am I right?"

"Yes, you are"

"Well… do you know what's under here? Under the tree?"

"No"

"Well, you heard a part of my story. Now it's time you hear it all" said Jake to his son, sitting down on the root of the young tree under which his former body had been buried "When I came here, I was going to collect some money and start a new life. Then… I found out I already had started a new life. And I just wanted to stay here, with your mother, and my new family, my new friends, and…"

"And then, there was the war. I just know. Uncle Norm told me about it"

It just seemed that Tom _knew_ he didn't want to talk about what happened during the war. Once, the very Tom had said he could smell the tension in the air, just like when he was worried, or when Michael was going to have a tantrum. Just like… just like a certain dead scientist who shared his name.

"What happened after the war?" asked the young boy, sitting down "I know I was born one year after, but… in that year, what happened? And where's… where… well, if you don't have Norm and David's heavy sleep, then you must…"

"Right under here, under this tree"

"But… if you are _over_ here, and your former body's _under_ here, how did Uncle Thomas arrive here? And… why didn't he go to Gaia when he died?"

Yeah, why? He had seen him dead. He was there because he was dead. Maybe it was because his soul had somewhat bound with the avatar even without him ever linking.

"I think it's because of… well, it's a complicated thing. You would not understand"

"Dad…"

"Okay, okay, _I don't_ understand it. I don't know what's happened but I can do some hypothesis, like you and Gabriel did"

"So, tell me them"

"Well, your uncle looked a lot like me. We could say... that my mum, my teachers, and even Michel could not tell who was who"

"Really?"

"Not even _you_ would be able to recognize me, if I showed you a photo of when my brother and I were about your age"

"And what's the hypothesis?"

"Well, that he somewhat bound with me when he died on Earth, and he come here... as kind of a stowaway. And he went to Eywa when I passed through Eywa's eye"

"That would explain the voice, but how did you realize this?"

"Well, it's…"

He was going to say "kind of a long story", but he stopped. Tom would surely be going to reply he said that sentence too often.

But it was quite a long story to tell. It would have taken too much time to be told. Tom surely didn't know what was a school play, or a different belief, or an hypothesis on what there was beyond death.

But, in that night, the night of the day the humans called 24 August 2154, in the few moments in which he had been in Eywa's eye, he had found himself curled up in a big, wooden box. Just like in a school play he had acted in at the age of nine.

"_Wake up, Jake! We can't stay here too long… in no one's land! We're not allowed to"_

_The someone next to him had opened the box, and now stood up, getting ready to get out._

"_Come on, stand up and get out of this thing" said his companion holding out a hand_

"_But I can't…"_

_Then he had stopped. The voice coming from his throat was no different from his companion's. And, to cap it all, it was the voice of a small boy._

_Was he nine again? Back to the school play he had performed in as his brother's stuntman? He looked at himself: he wore a blue T-shirt and teal shorts. Just like in the show. And his companion was dressed in the same way, but he also had a scarf, and his nose had been painted in red. Just like…_

"_Tommy? But you're…"_

"_Dead? Kind of, Jake. Now, can you please get out of that box? They won't let us stay here for too much time. I have to move on… and you have to start a new life"_

_In the bottom of the box, two balloons had been tied to a hook. Or at least, one of them was. The other one was badly tied to the other one's string._

_The other boy got the badly-tied balloon and tied it to his wrist, then untied the other one and passed it to Jake, who took the string in his hand. It seemed an important thing. A very important thing._

"_Make sure you don't lose it" said the nine-years-old kid who just looked like his brother "And, please, stand up. There's someone who needs to talk to you, before you go"_

_Jake tied the balloon to his wrist and tried to raise himself using his arms to make pressure on the box. He didn't fall.__ His legs just responded, and took him out of the box._

"_You're reacting… it's a good sign" said Tommy "Do you know Michel started again from scratch? A bit like you did. Soon he'll see again"_

_Right next to the box they had just stepped out of__, there was another box, empty, twice the size of the one he had shared with Tommy, and, some yards away, a third one, open, next to which a dark-haired boy was sitting. His balloon was still tied to the box, and he kept his eyes closed. He wore a purple long coat, his face was made-up like a clown's, and on his head there was a magician's top-hat._

"_Hey, but that is…"_

"_Yeah, that's Michel. He's been heavily sedated, that's why he's here. They're operating him. The FBI has paid the surgeons"_

"_Hey, Michel!" called Jake_

"_Leave me alone, you snot!" answered Michel without even turning his head. Then he covered his throat with a hand._

"_Is that my voice?"_

_He opened his eyes__ and looked down. Then touched his hat. Then rubbed his face and looked at his dirty hand._

"_That's not possible, this is not the Circus!" he said_

"_It seems it is, Michel" said Tommy "This is the way we imagined death, after acting in Ms Attolico's school play"*_

_Michel tried to step forward, but he could not get far from the box._

"_You're just sleeping, buddy. You'll wake up soon" explained the swot of the trio_

"_Hey, are you Tommy and Jake?" asked Michel "Listen… I am sorry, boys. I ruined your lives. Jake, please, at least you… tell me you're sleeping, too. A big, deep sleep. Please… I'm sorry, I should have never tried to be the hero"_

_Something, in Jake's head, decided the right thing was to get in the big box and have a nap in there. He carefully walked to that box, climbed in and tied his balloon to a hook in the bottom._

"_Time to go for both of us" said Tommy letting his balloon fly "Jake… thank you. You did something I would never have been able to. I have to go now… there's a party up there waiting for me, and I made them wait for too long! And you… you have your new family waiting for you... happy birthday, Jake"_

_He closed the box. It was dark, again._

_The last thing Jake had heard before waking up under a starry sky was Tommy saying "You will see him again__ before coming back here, Michel. Just keep walking on your road"_

_(David's POV)_

"At last, Jake! Where were you gone? We were all waiting for you!"

They were sitting in a circle, there was an empty space between Neytiri and the young hunter Sel'cral, the one who had taken Peter out of the Hometree wreckage as a child.

"I'm sorry. Thomas just wanted to talk. He discovered a stowaway in the last ISV and didn't know who he was"

"Where is he now?" asked Sel'cral, who had been one of the smartest of Grace's students and now had started asking David to teach him some laws of Physics.

"**He went to Eywa the very night I passed through her eye. He somewhat had bonded to me before I left Earth**" said Jake passing from English to Na'vi.

"**Now, let's talk about the important matter. We know they're back. What are we going to do with them?**" asked Norm

"**Well, it's obvious**" said one of the young warriors "**We'll chase those demons away as we did last time!**"

"**Calm down!**" replied Norm "**They do not even know where we are!**"

David was sitting next to Norm, and at their sides there were Serge and Annemarie on the right, and Manfred and Gerald on the left. Lewis and Barbara were near Gerald, and near them there was a group of young hunters, led by twenty-years-old Sel'cral and eighteen-years-old Ha'sila.

Peter had not been allowed in the group yet because he still had to get his ikran. Near Sel'cral was sitting Jake, then Neytiri, then the former _tsahik,_ Mo'at, and some old warriors.

"**You're acting like a three-years-old, Odan! Will you please stop shouting and listen before you speak?**" Annemarie scolded the young man who had spoken. When some of the young hunters did something stupid, she was able to scold them just as she would have done with Austin when the ten-years-old kid was seen stealing the marmalade they had tried making with some fruits grown in the Compound (it wasn't particularly sweet or tasty, but most of the kids liked it a lot. And Austin just couldn't stop eating).

"**If we don't know where they are, how many they are and what they are up to, go and look for them would be totally useless, if not even dangerous**" intervened Jake "**They, however, will surely be wanting to take back control of Hell's Gate. They surely didn't come here with the right tools and materials to build a new base**"

David nodded. Even if Jake had given up being a soldier a long, long time ago, he had not forgotten those times, and he was still able to _think_ as a soldier when he needed to. George Higgins the former sergeant who lived in the Colony, was even better than him: in fact, he had created an evacuation plan for the colony to be used in case of emergency some years after Gabriel and Helena were born.

"**We can't keep them out forever**" was saying Gerald "**They have better weapons. **_**And**_** in twelve years, they must have improved them, too. We would not stand to a siege, not in these conditions. And, even if every one of us would surely be able to jeopardize his or her life, no one would jeopardize our children's lives. And, even if we hid them, and tried to resist to the soldiers… what would the kids do if we lose?**"

Jake looked pensive for a moment, maybe he was up to tell something but he stayed silent.

"**There's only one thing left to do**" said Manfred "**Scorched earth**"

Some of the young stood up, with anger in their eyes. Being one of the teachers, even if not always, Manfred was a respected man, but the things he had just said could have been interpreted badly.

"**Calm down, guys!**" shouted David standing up "**Scorched earth is not as you mean it. It's an old tactic used on Earth some time ago: when the opponent was too close, you just had to abandon your base, destroying it so they can't use it. We would only destroy the colony**"

"**We would just need to break all the windows and run away**" said Gerald

"**And destroy all the computers and the link beds. We can always use the ones in the link shacks we took around here, I mean**" added Norm "**And, obviously, we'll need to take the food away and destroy our plantations, the foreign plants like wheat overall. Nothing they can use must be left**"

"**How much would the Sky People be slowed down by this tactic?**" asked Neytiri

"**A lot**" explained David "**As Jake said, they've come here expecting to take the base. They'll expect everything on a plate, but they will find a task even harder than the one the first Sky People here had to overcome. Even fixing a window is no easy thing, especially if the window needs to stop the air. In the beginning, they'll have food, but they'll run out soon, and without the cultivated fields of the base they won't be able to grow their own food for months, if not even for years. And, if we damage the electrical plant, it's going to be really **_**Hell's Gate**_**. We'll take away everything we can lift on our shoulders, and destroy everything we can't. This is scorched earth**"

"**And it's a strategy that, in places like this, works at its best**" resolved Jake "**We'll have our time to defeat them… if they won't go away on their own**"

Most of the people in the circle nodded and murmured it was a good idea, and Sel'cral looked in Ha'sila's eyes.

"**I just hope they really go away on their own. I don't want another war**" he said to his lifelong friend

"**So we have a deal**" resolved Jake standing up and walking back and forth "**This very night, we have to start evacuation. The ones in gravest danger are the dreamwalkers and their families. David, go and look for George. Collect all the kids who have a dreamwalker… or former dreamwalker… in their families. Bring them to the New Colony. I'll send some of the young hunters to help you**"

_(Gabriel's POV)_

They ran in the hallways until they got to the stairs. Nearly no one lived on third floor, but Gabriel liked it a lot because there were big windows, even on the ceiling. Now they were going to move, he would have missed the sunlight coming from everywhere around him.

"Okay, this is my room" said Gabriel opening a door. It was always the same mess. He really needed to pack, now that most of his stuff would have been useless for a long time.

Most of his books were on his bunk, obviously. When he slept, he always knocked on the ground one or two of them.

"_Brisingr_? What does it mean?" asked Austin picking a black book from the floor

"It's an old book of my Da's. They were all his… these books, I mean. He stuck them in his bag coming here. _Brisingr_ means "fire" in a fictional language, but it's also the name of the hero's sword"

"I've never seen so many books… you should give them to an adult, so we can make a library"

The laptop was on now, and linked to the net. Gabriel opened up Skype and controlled if one of his cousins was there.

Unexpectedly, he found Alfred, the one who logged in nearly never. He clicked on his account and started a video conversation.

A black-haired young man, with glasses and a short beard, yawned in front of the webcam.

"Alfred, please! There's a friend of mine looking at the screen!" protested Gabriel "What's happened? Why are you here?"

"They gave me the boot"

"They gave you a boot? What are you going to do with just a boot?"

Alfred chuckled and shook his head.

"Where do you live, cousin? They didn't give me a big shoe. They kicked me out. I lost my job"

"I live on Pandora, by the way" replied Gabriel "Most of us don't even have proper shoes, remember?"

He took off one of his sandals and showed it to Alfred.

"Why did they fire you?" asked Austin "Oh, and I'm Austin"

"Nice to meet ya, Austin--- well, I worked in the police, but I have done a… let's call it mischief, and even if I didn't end up in jail, they didn't want to let someone like me work as a policeman again"

"What did you do?" asked Gabriel "Alfred, you're a good man. Don't tell me you robbed please!"

"I didn't rob. Edmund and I have just painted on a wall. A veery big wall. In Rome. Saint Peter's Square"

"Why?"

"Because I did exactly what your little RDA friends did to the forests of Pandora. And we also wrote on that wall. To make them keep their filthy hands off your home. The main difference is that paint… a bit of water, a bit of soap, and it's gone!"

"That's crazy, Mr. Alfred" said Austin

"Hey, boy, don't call me mister. Please. You make me feel old" replied Alfred grinning "I'm just twenty-two"

"I'm sorry, it's just that… here, at the colony, there are no young adults. There are only… adults. And children"

"Well, that surely means no one went to bed with a woman while good old Selfridge was around… oh, and by the way, he's coming back there. They took off seven months ago"

"Yeah, that's why I called" intervened Gabriel "This morning, at about a quarter to ten, there was a sonic boom. Da thinks it's them"

"Da? Your father? By the way, you call him Daddy or David? I mean, the way you call him lets people think"

"I call him Da. That's enough, Alfred. We're talking about Sky People"

"Yeah, and what am I?"

"You're a human. That's different. They've come to destroy. You haven't come here and you surely don't want to destroy a thing"

"Thanks, Gabriel. Really… you've been one of the few thanking me for how I am acting"

"No, you lost your job for the People... _I have_ to thank you, Al. Or, as Peter would say, _irayo_"

"Peter? You mean the boy your father adopted? How is he?"

"He's all right, just kind of scared. He's quite afraid of bangs, and when he heard the sonic boom he really got petrified"

"He's afraid of bangs?" asked Austin "I didn't think he could be. I mean, he's that big, he's fifteen, and you said me someone already considers him as an adult!"

"I never met him… Gabriel, can you call him so I can introduce myself? I mean, he's the only cousin of mine I never met!"

"Huh? You mean… ask him to come here? Well, Al, he's not here… and he's even sleeping by the way. I thought you knew he doesn't live here"

"Do you mean…?"

"He's not human, yeah. At least, not as the 'homo sapiens' meaning" explained Gabriel "Just… don't say it again. For me, he's just my brother. And anyway… I'm an avatar driver now, so I don't give a damn about stature"

Alfred's jaw dropped suddenly.

"You… an avatar driver?" he asked "But… that's… you're eleven, Gabriel!"

"I know it better than you how old I am. Yet, I am an avatar driver. And I'm no freak, Alfred. Just look at me. I'm just your cousin"

"Now I have to go. See ya, cousin. And… have a walk in the green for me!"

Alfred's image vanished. Gabriel switched off the laptop.

"We'd better get back to the Compound" commented Austin "Maybe my parents and your father are going to get out now…"

"_ALL THE HUMANS IN THE COLONY PLEASE GATHER IN THE CANTEEN. THIS IS NOT A PRACTICE!_" shouted George's voice in the hallway speakers.

"What's going on?" asked Austin

"Dunno" answered Gabriel opening the door "We'd better go there and see. Come on, that must be something important"

_*** Jake's former teacher, Ms Attolico, shares her surname with the first director (and writer) of the play. I'm imagining she's a descendant of the great (not so much!) Giancarlo ^-^**_

_**From next chapter "This rocks!" and "those rocks":**_

_**He didn't seem too happy about the signaling rockets, and Michel could understand him. Those things made too much noise and too much light. He had really seen too many of them in Venezuela. Usually, they had been used to scare civilians, and not, as they said, to make some light for the armies.**_


	8. This rocks! and Those rocks

_**VanSnyder, thanks a lot for your review. And… about the Newton situation, well, if Gabriel never met his stepbrother before running away, Newt, who is **__**a year younger**__** than Gabriel, never saw his mother after what "happened". He's got his personal opinion of the fact, but this is all in this chapter, so I won't waste lines explaining myself.**_

* * *

Chapter 7

"This rocks!" and "those rocks"

_(Gabriel's POV)_

The canteen, usually, was not crowded at all at half past one at night, but yet there were all the people who lived in the Colony. The kids, in particular, were sitting at the end of a table, looking worried. Some of them wore sleepwear.

Some of the Avatar team, including Da, Serge and Norm, were on the other side of the room, along with George, who was wearing his old soldier's outfit.

"Hi everyone" said Austin sitting next to Adrian "What's happened?"

"We got to move" answered Adrian "George says we can't stay here anymore"

"My dad's gone mad" commented Newt, but no one seemed to support him

"Huh, Newt? Since when do you talk to me and you don't call me giraffe?" asked Austin

"Shut it giraffe"

"Oh… okay. Thanks"

Some of the kids laughed at Austin's reply. Newt looked around, confused.

"Stop talking, kids. You too, Newton" intervened George speaking in a megaphone "We are evacuating the base. And now, I'm going to say the names of the kids who are to leave the Colony this very night along with the avatar drivers"

_Leave_? That meant surely danger. What was going to happen?

"Leave? And where are we going to?" asked Walter standing up

"Yeah, this is our home. Where could we possibly go, if we can't breathe out there?" asked Austin

"There's a settlement in the forest, with air locks and beds and everything we'll need" intervened Norm "Gabriel's already been there. He can explain you"

"Yeah, there are even the basketball hoops and soccer goals. Proper soccer goals, with the poles. Not like the one painted on the walls we have here" reaffirmed Gabriel "It's a nice place, really. We won't miss this bedlam"

"Basketball hoops and soccer goals?" asked Austin "Great! I want to go there"

"It's a trap, in my opinion" replied Newt "It's all a trap"

"Newt, just shut it" George shouted in the megaphone "You should trust who's older than you!"

Silence.

"Now… the kids I'm calling must cross the room and report to Norm, then rush to their rooms and pack up. They must take their best clothes… no sleepwear, just clothes… and their most important things, things which cannot be replaced. Understand?"

There was a choir of "Yes", then silence again.

"I'm starting" said George taking a piece of paper from Norm's hands "Annakin, Adrian"

Adrian stood up and reached Norm and the avatar team.

"Dale, Alison. Dale, Deborah. Dale, Walter"

The three siblings stood up together, little Deborah holding her older brother's hand, and crossed the room.

"Giles, Austin!"

Austin blinked to Gabriel and reached his father, looking quite worried his best friend had not been called.

"Higgins, Laura. Higgins, Newton"

"What?" shouted Newt "I don't want to. I'm staying here!"

Laura stood up and started crossing the room, but she stopped halfway.

"Come on Newt, don't be such an ass" she said "You should be the eldest!"

Newton snorted and followed Laura, nearly pushing her to arrive first.

"He is an ass" commented Helena

"Locke, Helena, and Locke, Gabriel" called George "But of course, that was obvious, Gabriel"

Gabriel and Helena stood up together and crossed the room side to side. It was one of the few times they remembered they were twins, apart from their birthday.

After three more kids coming, Heather, eight, Janus, five, and Neil, nine, Norm made them gather in a circle.

"All right, we'll move in groups and take different paths. Walter, Deborah, Adrian and Heather will be group one. Alison, Helena, Neil and Janus, group two. Gabriel, Austin, Laura and Newton, group three"

"Why with Gabriel?" asked Newt "He could poke me like he did this morning!"

"Because you're the oldest kids in the Colony. The ones who could easily cross the hardest path. That's why" intervened Norm

"And what about Helena?" asked Laura

"Helena needs to stay with Alison and Janus because they're far too young to stay in a group alone" said Norm

"They've got Neil!" replied Newt

"Neil doesn't matter. He's nine. Helena's eleven. They need a guide!" replied Da "You should take it easy, Newt. There are no wild animals around in this part of the year. And you won't be alone. There's Peter with you"

"Who Peter? What's his surname?" asked Newt looking at the adults

Gabriel and Helena nearly started laughing, then looked at Newton and said, almost simultaneously, "Locke".

"Blast you!" shouted Newt leaving the circle "Not only the freaky blind bat, but his big blue brother too!"

"You'd better hope I don't link up with my avatar too soon, you water snake, because when I'll do it I'll paint you purple!" replied Gabriel. He would have stayed calm in front of anything, but someone making fun of his brother… he had quite a feeling he was going to paint Newton purple before he could link to his avatar.

"Shut up, both of you!" shouted George "Newt, try to show a bit of respect for who will guide you. Gabriel, your brother can defend himself. Don't get angry for him"

Newt grimaced, and stuck his tongue out, and his father slapped him.

"Do it again, Newton, and I'll really cut your tongue. Will you behave like that when your mother will see you again? Do you really want her to see what sort of rude kid you have become?"

Newt punched George and shouted: "Mum is _dead_! _They_ killed her!", pointing at Da.

Then he started crying and shaking. He looked really _terrified_.

George ducked at his son's level and placed his hands on Newt's shoulders, making him stand still.

"Newton… why would have they killed your mum?"

"Be… because they already killed humans" sighed Newt

"What if I told you your mum was ill? And that she and Laura could have both died if no one did something?"

Newton sighed again, but didn't say a word.

"And that she's all right? Newt… I miss her, too. And she misses you and Laura. The problem is… she could not come back here. She had an avatar, like David and Gabriel. Now she's just… a bit changed. But she's still the same person. She had to leave her human body and live in her avatar to survive and to save Laura. Understand?"

"The pot calling the kettle black" commented Austin "See, Helena? He mocks you because of your stepbrother and just look at his mother!"

"Augustin Paul Giles!" said Serge in a reproaching tone

"_Je suis desolé, Papa_" answered Austin looking at his shoes "I'm sorry"

"All right. So… you've got one hour to get in your rooms, pack up and get in the old hangar. Take everything you could need, because we aren't coming back. Never again" resolved Norm "Now… go!"

_(Michel's POV)_

The forest at night was an outstanding show. Michel had never seen a forest, in all of his life, and was nearly afraid to walk around and damage something.

Behind him, the four scientists, Diego, Florence, Beatrice and Charles, all of them in their avatars, were looking around with his same expression.

"This _rocks_!" was commenting Charles ducking to examine a plant "I mean… I never saw this before… if not in books… it's a shame Selfridge just minds about those stupid rocks!"

He just seemed like Joseph under the Christmas tree. The very same expression.

"Yeah, Marty, but we are not there to pick flowers" commented Alan

"Just call me Charlie, if you really have to use a nickname" replied Charles "And unobtanium is not the only important thing on this planet. If some of these plants could be used to bring back green on Earth... I can take some seeds and sell them"

"Charlie!" scolded Beatrice

"Just don't forget Jimmie is still in that orphanage, Trish. If I collect enough money, I... we... could get him back home!"

"Is Jimmie your brother?" asked Michel. That story just reminded him of another one.

"Yeah. He's twelve and his full name is James David Martin" answered Charlie "When our parents died, he got locked up in a hospital, then in an orphanage. They didn't want to let him live with us, even if we're both of age, because they don't think we can afford to maintain him. So, I decided to take my father's old job and collect some pounds"

"Don't you have any family?" asked Florence "Anyone who could have taken James David... like grandparents, uncles or aunts?"

"Our father's parents died before Charlie was born" answered Beatrice "Our father was the only child, and we never met our mother's family, if she still had one"

"The only thing we know, is because of our brother" added Charlie "His middle name was the same of one of our mother's brothers. Given up for dead in the very period Jimmie was born"

"I'm sorry" said Michel "I lost my best friend, he was going to be shipped on Pandora, too"

"Is that one the Jake you keep talking about?" asked Alan in a cynical tone "Isn't he, Phantom Pains?"

"No, he wasn't. He was called Tommy"

"And that Jake, where is he now?"

"Given up for dead"

"So happy..." resolved Alan with a bitter grin "I just hope I won't be the third"

"I'm not saying Jake is dead!" replied Michel

"Yeah, but where may he be now, if I am allowed to ask?"

"Hey, you two! Just be quiet! There could be viperwolves!" said Diego

"Viper what?" asked Alan

"Viperwolves. Big, six-legged beasts. They usually hunt in groups. Until we don't receive those signaling rockets, please move carefully"

He didn't seem too happy about the signaling rockets, and Michel could understand him. Those things made too much noise and too much light. He had really seen too many of them in Venezuela. Usually, they had been used to scare civilians, and not, as they said, to make some light for the armies.

"Come on" said Florence "The sooner we find Hell's Gate, the sooner we end this farce"

_(Norm's POV)_

The first kid arriving in the old hangar was Gabriel, with a big rucksack on his shoulders.

"I can't leave my books and laptop here!" he quickly explained "They must not take them!"

David got the rucksack and quickly inspected it. He got the biggest books out of it and put them in his bag.

"You'll break your back if you overload your baggage" he commented "I know you don't want to lose _The Lord of The Rings_, but you could have asked me for help"

"Well, you've been missing for a lot of time, I've learned to do some things on my own, Da" said Gabriel getting back his rucksack

"Okay, you have a point. Anyway, ask for help next time"

As they were talking, Austin and Helena entered the room, both with a backpack as big as Gabriel's. Both of them had obviously filled it with less stuff, but kept something else out of it: Austin was holding in his hands the digital camera which once had belonged to his father and Helena had her ball in a sort of net made out of strings.

"Norm, why was my father complaining about you?" asked Austin putting his bag on the ground "He said me you're a damn pig-head!"

"Nothing" said Norm raising his shoulders

"He does not get so angry for _nothing_" replied Austin grinning

Norm stayed silent. How could he say a ten-years-old boy he had done something _really_ stupid like acting as a guinea pig for a splicing virus which modified the mucus in the lungs to make the alveolar cells resist to Pandoran air?

It was one, stupid, and two, hard to explain. The only certain thing he knew was that he felt like he was going to cough, and probably he would have had to leave his human body forever, once arrived to the New Colony.

But the good thing was that, if the thing worked and was nonlethal on him, Serge would have accepted to use it on everyone, so they would be able to get rid of exopacks.

"Yeah, what have you done Norm?" asked Gabriel with a smirk

"It's my own business, kids. It will be yours if I won't pass through Eywa's eye too soon. Understand?"

Austin and Gabriel looked a bit pensive, but nodded.

As minutes passed, the other kids arrived. The last one, as foreseen, was Newton, who had to be literally carted away by his father, and had a rucksack more stuffed than Gabriel's and a ball in a net.

"Dad, why aren't you coming, too?" he was asking

"They need me here. I have to finish evacuating the Colony"

"But I don't want to leave you"

"You have to, Newt. It must be this way. These Sky People are not like us. They do look like me and you, but they can't see anything beyond their nose. They don't understand a lot of things. Some of them would be able to make a man not stand again anymore. Soldiers… soldiers like I was killed Grace Augustine, who was like a mother for us. They have come here to bring death. I was one of them once, son. I know what are they up to"

Newt started crying. Not the whimpers he had been doing twice in that day. Not those. He really was weeping.

"I'm afraid, Dad. I don't know where to go... who I can trust... please, can't we pretend nothing happened?"

"We can't, Newt. We can clear a new road, anyway, if you can't find one. I can say you who you can trust. And you can trust... children like you. You can trust Gabriel and Austin. You can trust Gabriel's brother. You can trust Laura. And you can trust your mum, too. You'll be safe if you leave now, private Newt"

"Are those orders?" asked Newt as he dried up his tears

"Yeah. Orders. Protect your sister, okay? Now you're the man"

"Yes, sir" resolved Newt clumsily mimicking a salute

"Shall we go?" asked Serge putting a bag full of exopacks on the ground "Kids, everyone of you, take an exopack and never take it off, until you don't get in the shacks"

They quickly put on their exopacks, as they had been taught to since they could walk and talk, and gathered around the air lock. As soon as everyone was wearing an exopack, Norm opened the door and led everybody out. David made sure every kid was out, then went out and shut the door.

The Pandoran night was as beautiful as ever, and all of the kids seemed to agree with him, because they had eyes and mouth wide open out of wonder.

Well, everyone excluding Gabriel, who had already been outside. Even Newton seemed amazed.

"Why did you never let us out at night?" he asked "This rocks!"

"Well, because kids should get in bed quite early so they can attend school the next day" replied Norm grinning "But it's never too late, isn't it Newton? And, by the way, the New Colony it's in the middle of the forest. You'll be able to see this every night"

"Every night?" asked Adrian amazed. He whistled.

"Okay, kids, now… rule number one: no noise in the forest. You could attract animals. And, if you have flashlights, or matches, or anything else making a light, _never use it_. And don't worry about the dark: the plants in the forest just will be enough to see… and to be brave"

He added that comment, knowing that the youngest children might have been afraid of the dark.

The three young hunters who Jake had sent, two former students of Grace's school and David's foster son, were already out of the useless runway which once had been used for the Scorpions. They were sitting on the ground, their pa'li standing not too far away, and Sel'cral and Ha'sila were telling their younger friend what had happened at the assembly.

Gabriel looked just like he was going to shout his greetings to his brother, but he didn't. He had common sense, luckily.

"**Okay, you three, come over here!**" said Norm gesturing to the three hunters "**Time to leave!**"

Peter, Sel'cral and Ha'sila stood up and joined the group.

"Okay, here we are" resolved Norm "Sel'cral, you'll stay with group one. Pay particular attention to Deborah, the little girl. Ha'sila, you'll guide group two. Make sure the two little ones don't panic or get into trouble. Helena here can help you. Peter, group three. And if Newton says something bad, pretend you're deaf"

Sel'cral and Ha'sila were looking at the kids in a quite peculiar way, as they were trying to recognize something they had already seen.

"Why are you staring at me?" asked Newt, looking annoyed

"Well, you look like your mother" answered Norm

"It's not that strange" said Gabriel "You should have seen what Tom did one year ago when I said who was my father"

"**If you see someone very tired, haul him or her on the pa'li**" David started explaining to the three hunters "**Most of these kids haven't slept at all, and won't be able to walk all the time. And… Sel'cral, do you see that dark-haired boy who's holding his sister's hand? Well, he's Walter, Manfred's son. Very likely, he'll get hurt during the journey. If you see him limping, or skipping on a foot, let him sit on the pa'li**"

"**All right**" said Sel'cral nodding

It was time to leave, for the kids. Peter, Sel'cral and Ha'sila already knew what path were they going to take. Three different groups, three different paths.

"See you tomorrow, kids" resolved Norm "We'll be there the sooner we can. And we'll bring the other ones. Just don't worry. You'll be safe"

The three groups parted, each of them taking a different path in the forest. Peter was playfully patting his brother on the head. This was the step forward the Team was waiting for. Perhaps, it was real that every cloud had a silver lining. Or, as Sel'cral would have said, Eywa never took anything in vain.

_(Gabriel's POV)_

The path they were taking was the same they had used that very morning. Or… last morning. Gabriel was not sure if midnight had already passed or not.

Newton was staying silent, luckily. The first who started speaking was Laura.

"Newt, do you remember how Mum was?" she asked

Even in the faint light, Gabriel could see Newt was blushing.

"No. Not a clue. I was just one when she left" he said "I just remember a five-fingered Na'vi taking her away"

"That was probably Jake. Or one of the Dreamwalkers" intervened Peter

"Did I ask you anything?" replied Newt

"How can you remember it if you were just one?" asked Austin "Your story has flaws"

As they were talking, Peter's ears had a strange turn.

"_Fnu_! Be quiet!" he said, keeping his voice low and pushing them behind a tree big enough to hide them all

"What's that?" murmured Gabriel

"**Sky People. Four dreamwalkers and two warriors. I've never seen them before**" explained Peter

They stayed quiet. They could hear their voices. One of them spoke English with a peculiar accent, the same Gabriel had recognized in Mum.*

"I just hope we find Hell's Gate before they say us to use rockets" he was saying "We could ruin everything around here. I don't want to. It's… stupid"

"Stop, listen!" said a different voice, which sounded quite strange, maybe because of an exopack "I think I've heard something…"

"**How can a Sky Person hear so well?**" murmured Peter

"Hey, you, over there? Can… you… hear… me…? Do… you… understand?" was asking the exopack man

Austin chuckled.

"**Come out, we mean no harm!**" said a young woman's voice

Newt took a peek, and come out of the hiding place.

"Hello…" he said, smiling

"Oh, a kid!" said another man "Hi, boy, what's your name?"

"Newt Higgins. Are you two Marines?"

"**The stupid boy!**" uttered Peter going out "Nothing to see, Newton, come back here, your mum is waiting for you!"

"One and two" said the man who had tried to make Newt introduce "How many are left?"

"Just go away, you aliens!" hissed Peter "You have no right in this place… guys let's go, they're waiting for us"

Gabriel, Austin and Laura abandoned the tree and gathered around Peter. A dark-haired soldier who looked just a bit younger than Da looked at them, just like Sel'cral and Ha'sila had done.

"So they were five" said the youngest avatar driver, a boy who looked on his early twenties "Hi there everyone. I'm Charlie and…"

He looked at Gabriel just like if he had seen a ghost.

"Why are you staring at me?" asked Gabriel. That Charlie man seemed a bit too pushy. And strange.

"Leave my brother alone!" snarled Peter

"Brother?" asked the younger Marine "That would be your brother? And who's your cousin then, a Martian?"

Peter clenched his fists, and looked just like if he was going to beat up the young soldier just like Gabriel had done with Newt.

"Don't give him a damn, Pete. Don't listen. Pretend to be deaf" muttered Gabriel

Peter closed his eyes and shook his head. The older soldier, the one who had looked at all the kids, poked the young one on his shoulder.

"Alan, watch it. Not all the brothers are blood brothers. Leave them alone. Maybe they can help us"

He turned to them.

"**I see you, kids. We are looking for the… no, don't mind it.**"

He faced the Spanish-looking avatar driver.

"Diego, do we really have to? If Selfridge finds the base, it's going to be hell for us"

The driver raised his shoulders. So… they were not bad. They just had their hands bound.

"Yeah, but what will we say to the old asshole?" said one of the two girls. Her avatar looked more like a human: her nose wasn't flat.

"We'll say we found it destroyed" said the boy called Alan "You know, we can always said they made scorched earth…"

"Yeah, good idea, Alan" said the older Marine "Listen, kids, I need to talk with one of the adults. Do you possibly know a Jacob…"

Aha! So they were looking for _Jake_! Now he was going to laugh.

"It depends on who you're looking for" he said, with a playful smirk "I know a Jake Lloyd who played in a 1999 movie, a Jakob Hyrnek who appeared in a book, and then there are Jake Abel and Jacob Black, even if I hate Twilight characters…"**

"I'm not talking about dead or fictional characters, kid! I'm talking about a man. A living man. A friend of mine. Understand?"

"Yeah. Can you describe him please? Maybe I've seen him somewhere"

"He's a former soldier. Brown hair. He has a tattoo on his arm. If he stood, he'd reach my ear in stature"

"Why? Can't he stand?"

"Yeah... my fault" said the soldier looking at his shoes

He was really looking for Jake. The description matched perfectly the photo Mr. Bruno had showed them.

"I know a Jacob, also known as Jake. But he's taller than you. He stands. No tattoos. Black hair. And has two children, Thomas and Michael. I know him 'cause Thomas's my best friend"

The soldier just looked puzzled. _Check_. He had led him away from his goal without telling lies.

"You say the kids are called Thomas and Michael?"

_Why did he need to know it?_

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, my friend's twin brother was called Tommy. And my name is Michel"

_Checkmate! He's beaten me up!_

"That could be a coincidence. And how do you explain a paraplegic soldier to walk again when there is no operating room in here?"

"Aha!" said Michel "I didn't say you he was a soldier!"

_Crap. Crap. Crap._

"You just leave him alone!" resolved Gabriel, nearly shouting "He doesn't need an asshole jarhead who come here to remind him what he was! He's okay the way he is now!"

Michel looked in his eyes for a moment. Gabriel could see a web of scars on his face, some irregular, and some which looked just like they had been made on purpose.

"Let's go back to the base camp" said the driver called Diego "Come on! _Vamos_!"

They slowly turned and went away. Michel was the last. He looked at the five of them with a last, hopeful look, maybe hoping for someone who could tell: "No, wait! We'll take you to your friend!", and then he was gone too.

"What did that Dii'go man say?" asked Peter, puzzled

"He said _vamos_. That's Spanish for "come on"" explained Gabriel "Mum speaks Spanish, too. That's why I understood"

"_Spanish_?"

"Sky People don't speak only English" said Newt "Well, most of them do. But they also speak Chinese, French, Italian, German… Austin, for example, speaks English _and_ French, because his mother came from a place on Earth where Sky People speak French too"

"And you?" asked Peter to Newt

"Only English. My mum's from England and my dad from the USA, and in both of these places people speak English. I would like to know another language… I mean, nearly every child in the Colony speaks two languages…"

"I don't" replied Gabriel grinning

"You don't? But if you understood what that Diego man was saying…"

"I don't speak two languages. I speak three. Well, kind of. I still have a lot to learn"

Newton's jaw dropped.

"I hate you" he said, emphasizing every word

"_Irayo_" replied Gabriel smirking and accelerating his steps so Newt could not catch him. Austin and Laura started chuckling, and Peter allowed himself to smile before telling everyone to be quiet.

Time passed that way: Newton trying to catch Gabriel, Gabriel walking faster to avoid him, and Peter hissing to keep everybody quiet. Until they didn't run into a rope and a trapdoor.

"Here we are" said Gabriel starting to climb up the rope. He had not realized it was so high.

"You need a hand, don't you?" asked Peter pushing him up

"I'd need a _ladder_" replied Gabriel grasping the rafters around the trapdoor

"A rope is better, kid" said Jake's voice from somewhere up there "You can always withdraw it, just in case of undesired guests. Welcome back, anyway"

There was a loud _thump_ on the floor as Jake jumped down of a tree branch and landed on the rafters.

"Thanks, Mr. Jake" said Gabriel hauling himself on the wooden floor and ducking to help Laura to climb up "By the way, talking about undesired guests… we met them. Four avatar drivers and two marines. As I understood, the male avatar drivers are called Diego and Charles, and the soldiers Alan and Michel"

Jake froze.

"You said Michel? Has he told you his surname?"

"No" answered Gabriel as Austin come up

"I got a picture of them!" said Austin holding up his camera "If there is a computer around, I can show you it"

"I'm afraid I don't know you" said Jake to Austin "Are you… are you Serge's kid? You just look like him"

"Yeah. I'm Austin. Nice to meet you, sir"

He really looked excited, but did his best to look at ease.

"I've got my laptop, Austin. We can use that"

"Stop it, kids. All you have to do now is to get in one of the huts, unpack and go to bed. We'll mind that photo tomorrow" said Jake

"I'm not tired" replied Gabriel, trying to hold back a yawn

"Yeah, you aren't at all" said Peter smirking as he came up with Newt "Come on, go to bed. And don't forget I'm your elder brother. I'll push you in your room if you make some resistance"

Austin laughed.

"Lucky I'm the only child" he said, going to the nearest door and getting in. Gabriel followed him slowly, his head down. As the four of them got into the shack and took their exopacks off, Helena's voice greeted them with a "But where the hell were you gone?"

Adrian was sitting on a chair in front of his laptop computer. Looking around, Gabriel saw six bunks, four desks, an empty shelf, six lockers and three link beds. There surely had been computers, but there was only one, apart from Adrian's.

"We found them, sis. The undesired guests" said Gabriel putting his rucksack on an empty bunk.

"Four avatar drivers and two soldiers" explained Austin "And we think one of the soldiers knows Jake"

"Yeah, we'll mind it tomorrow" said Newt "Can't we sleep now? Please!"

"For a time, Newton's right" said Helena "Let's sleep. Good night, everyone"

She climbed on a bunk and got under the blankets.

She had a point. After all the emotions of that day, Gabriel felt quite tired. It had been only a day, yet it had seemed a week. The fight with Newt, his first steps in his avatar, the sonic boom, the Sky Clearing mystery, Adrian's change of mind, the evacuation and the avatar drivers and Michel… Jake was right, he really needed to sleep.

He kicked his sandals away, put his rucksack on the ground and got under the blankets. That long day was finally over.

* * *

_*** Alicia Nevarez, Gabriel and Helena's mother, is from Argentina, as I already made Austin say in Chapter 2.**__** As Diego Seneca is Spanish, they should speak English with a similar accent.**_

_**** Jake Lloyd is an actor. He's famous for acting in Star Wars.**_

_**Jakob Hyrnek is a minor character in the Bartimeaus Trilogy (books)**_

_**Jake Abel is an actor. He played Luke Castellan's role in "Percy Jackson and the Olympians – The Lightning Thief"**_

_**Jacob Black… well if you know Twilight you know who he is. :P**_

_**The only "Jacob" **__**really**__** known by Gabriel is, obviously, Jake Sully. But he just didn't want to say it.**_

_**From next chapter: "Reunion"**_

"_**That's him. I would recognize that man even if he painted his face white, his lips red, drew a black line around his mouth, painted his nose red, and drew two big green squares around his eyes"**_

_**He grinned.**_

"_**He actually did it once. At the age of nine, in a school play. He was a great clown. He could start laughing even when the teachers menaced to flunk him at high school"**_

"_**He does not seem a man who smiles too often"**_


	9. Reunion

_**Today, the 25**__**th**__** of April, is an important day in Italy. Sixty-five years ago, Italian partisans, and English and American soldiers freed Italy from the Nazis and Fascist troops. So, I just want to say, before posting this chapter… THANK YOU GREAT BRITAIN AND USA!!**_

… _**Still ten more days and the DVD of Avatar will be sold in Italy… I guess I'll just have to pass the Chemistry exam next Tuesday, go to the European Theatre Kids' Festival to perform in "Before the Sun Sets" (yeah **__**that**__** Before the Sun Sets!) next Sunday, and then have a bit of patience and wait until Wednesday… I just can't wait to see Avatar in English!**_

_**(Oh, and by the way, Newt is quite fat.)

* * *

**_

Chapter 8

Reunion

_(David's POV)_

The sky was getting clear as the helicopters landed in a clearing in the woods. David was the first jumping down, quickly followed by Norm, Serge and Manfred. Norm hold back a cough, then shook his head.

"Don't tell me I had not said you it" said Serge to him "You're not coming back to the base, Norm. Stay in the shacks and rest"

Norm was going to reply something but he coughed and stayed silent.

The rope for the New Colony was there, hanging from the floor, and that meant trouble had not arrived. Yet.

David started climbing and hauled himself on the rafters. Everything was silent, as it was meant to be as it was still early morning. Someone had quickly scribbled the names of who lived in which shack out of the doors with a piece of chalk, and David recognized Peter's handwriting. The very Peter was snoring with the back on one of the shacks, the one on which he had written "_Helena – Adrian – Gabriel – Austin – Newton – Laura"._

"Peter? Peter?" David called, shaking him

"What? Hey… you… oh, that's you, Sempu" said Peter waking up "Please, no more jokes like that. I'm not used yet to your real face"

David did not know what to say. Now danger was coming to a close, and given the fact that he already had been proven worthy to abandon his short and ginger-haired self before the twins were born, maybe it was the time to do it. But what about Alicia and Helena? What would they be going to say?

He didn't want Helena to cry again. And the Team didn't want another Newton case.

"Has everyone arrived?" he asked his stepson as he stood up yawning

"Yeah. Mother included. She asked me to stay here and keep an eye on Gabriel and Helena"

After the twelve Team children had been evacuated, it had been the time of the other kids, who had come in helicopters with some of the adults. Now, the only ones staying in the base were the former soldiers, led by George, who were starting to dismantle everything. David, Serge and the other avatar drivers would be going to get into their avatars and rush back there to help them with some of the warriors' help.

Max came out of a shack, holding Gabriel's old stilts. He put them on the ground.

"It's all right. I've set on the link beds. And the two empty avatars… I've got them stable in the tanks. Do I have to let Austin start his training, Serge?"

"Let him sleep, for the moment. They all have had a heavy day, yesterday" answered Serge "And I don't think Austin will like stilts. He always said he didn't envy Gabriel at all when he had that stuff tied to his legs"

Norm coughed again.

"Bless you, Norm" commented Max "And what about Adrian? Do we have to tell him the truth?"

"We'd better not" said David "He's just a child. You could always tell him Ryan Lorenz was his father. That's half the truth"

Adrian was no normal kid. He was a SecOps avatar driver's clone.

They had discovered his existence when he was still an embryo put in cryo stasis, in a hidden lab. Very probably, he had been created by some ass-kissing scientist for Quaritch, who had had a predilection for marines in avatars, and then it... no, _he_ had been set aside when Jake had arrived. Along with the human embryo, there had been found a growing avatar, too, as the original had been taken away by the Omaticaya as the driver, Ryan Lorenz, had been killed by the very SecOps soldiers. Even if the embryo seemed just a few days old, the avatar looked just like if he was six.

As they were deciding whether to keep the clone alive or not, the lab tech Katherine Annakin had offered herself to become the future kid's mother.

Max had put the avatar in cryo, and, nine months after the embryo being implanted, Katherine had given birth to a beautiful baby boy whom she had called Adrian Lawrence Annakin.

"And what about his training? As he turned six, I've put his avatar out of cryo, without growth accelerators. As they're both seven now, we could even start" asked Max

"What's wrong with Ani?" asked Gabriel coming out of the shack

"Nothing" said Norm with an innocent smile "I just heard he got his head screwed on"

"Oh, yeah" replied Gabriel smiling

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" David asked his son

"Well, I'm not tired anymore. And I heard the choppers, so I thought it was you"

He stopped for a moment.

"Why have you taken the stilts?"

"That's for Austin, that is" answered Max "As we all are here, and he's got an avatar, he'd better start driving it"

"He won't like it" commented Gabriel pointing at the stilts "He won't like it _at all_"

"He'll have to swallow it, if he doesn't want to fall down" commented Norm

"By the way---" Gabriel started saying "We met 'em. Sky People. Six of them"

_Oh, no. They've found us._ What now? They just had to hope they were up to no bad.

"_Six_?" asked Max

"Yeah, four avatar drivers and two marines. One of them says he's a friend of Jake's. Austin has taken pics"

"Has he?"

"Yeah. I have not seen them, anyway, so I can't say you if they have come out well"

"Let's check them out" said Norm patting Gabriel on his shoulders and pointing at the door.

The shack had not been properly owned by the kids yet: they had clearly not unpacked, and only Adrian's computer was on a desk.

"He's been playing, last night" explained Helena jumping off her bunk "I said him not to, but he would not listen. And now he's sleeping like a rock!"

"Don't mind him. A lot of people won't wake up so soon today" commented Max as he started tinkering on one of the link beds

"Austin? Wake up!" said Serge shaking his kid "Gabriel said me you took a photo of the newcomers"

"... yeah?" moaned Austin kicking the blankets away "Oh, hello, Papa"

"Good morning" commented Max without stopping his work "Hey, Gabriel, I'm setting your link bed. As soon as it's ready, I need you to try it. If it does not work, I'll need to set up another one"

"Ohh-kay" said Gabriel as Austin switched on the spare computer and linked his camera to it. As Max worked on the link bed, Austin got the mouse and clicked once or twice.

"That's it" he said, pointing to the screen "Here they are"

In the picture, there were six people. Two wore soldiers' camouflage outfits, and the four avatar drivers had civilian's clothes. One of the two girls looked quite familiar to David.

"You see, that one with a yellow T-shirt is Diego" said Austin pointing to the oldest avatar driver "The other one is called Charlie, I think. The humans are Alan and Michel"

"Let me see!" said Norm gesturing to David to move a bit "Well, he's a well-built beanpole. And that matches Jake's description. Aand… these strange signs on his face. Austin, do you have photos with a better light?"

"Nope. I didn't use the flash, as you said me light was dangerous"

"They are scars" intervened Gabriel "I think he's been hurt, somehow. But those must be old injuries. He must have been hurt some years ago. I could see them only because they were many. There were also some… more recent wounds, but they seem to have been made with something like a scalpel or a knife"

"I'm done!" said Max opening the link bed "Gabriel, if you please…"

Without letting it being asked again, Gabriel rushed to the link bed and quickly jumped in it. _As usual. When he wants to do something, he's always the best._

"Gabriel, please, as you're going out there, find Jake and tell him to come here quickly!" said Norm "I think the soldier in Austin's pic is really _the_ Michel he talked me about!"

"Okay. I'll be back as soon as I can!" nearly shouted Gabriel as he closed the link bed on his own

"Bouncing baby" commented Norm as he tried to hold back his cough

"Bouncing boy" David corrected him smiling

_(Gabriel's POV)_

He found himself in the hammock his father had obliged him to get in the previous evening. His coat was where he had left it, on the ground, but he did not feel the need to take it: it was already warm enough to leave it where it was.

There was still silence around him, but some noises and some voices had started breaking it. Peter's hammock was empty, but Da's avatar was still sleeping.

The Omaticaya were waking up.

Gabriel easily jumped off the hammock and got out of the hut in which he… his avatar… had slept. In the clearing there were some of the Omaticaya – adults, overall, but he spotted Lewis with his one-year-old son Luke next to a root.

"Oel ngati kameye, Lewis. Hi, Luke" he said, getting closer to the two

Luke squeaked something and smiled, trying to pull Gabriel's shirt with a five-fingered hand.

"Yes. That's Gabriel. Say hello… hel-lo" said Lewis rocking Luke on his knee.

Then he turned serious.

"Hi, boy. What's up? I never saw you awaken so early when I was at the Colony"

"I'm looking for Jake. Norm needs to show him something. We think there's an old friend of his among the Sky People"

"Well, nearly everyone of us has left some of his friends behind" commented Lewis as he let Luke on the ground "I bet Jake just forgot him… like we all did"

"Forgot who?" said another familiar voice

"Hi, Tom" said Lewis looking at someone behind Gabriel "Looking for your friend, weren't you?"

"No, I was looking for my pain in the neck brother" replied Tom stepping forward "By the way, hi Gabriel. Have you seen Michael?"

"No"

"He just keeps running _all over_" complained Tom patting his forehead "I don't know where to find him anymore!"

Lewis smiled sympathetically and shook his head.

"Why don't you leave a bait?"

"A bait?" asked Tom, puzzled

"Yeah. What does your brother like? Scrabbling on your slate? Leave in the middle of the clearing your slate and chalks and he'll run out of his hideout"

"Yeah, after he promised Dad he won't touch them again" replied Tom smirking "Michael may be an imp, but he's not stupid enough to get scolded again"

"Listen, Tom, I need your help" said Gabriel

"Please, can you ask me it later? If my father finds out Michael's on the run again, he…"

"Yeah, that's about your father. Where is he? Norm's looking for him"

"Dunno. He's been missing nearly all night long. There's something happening, that's for sure. Warriors and hunters coming back and forth, a night time assembly, and that fact Norm said about the Sky People. They're back… aren't they?"

"They are. I've seen them, last night. We all moved in a place near here, while we were travelling we met six of them. One of the six, a soldier, said he's a friend of your father's"

"A friend of my father's? Was his name… Michel?"

"Yeah"

"Really?"

"Yes, why?"

Was it possible that everyone knew that stupid story and he did not? Who was that Michel? If he had known how had the things been, maybe he would have trusted him enough to lead him to the New Colony…

"He was my father's _best_ friend… like you are for me. They fought for a stupid matter some years ago, and their friendship ended. My father's been… is… really sorry because he started the argument. If he's really here… they can be friends again!"

"**I won!**" shouted Michael hitting the wall of a hut with a hand "**You count again, Tom!**"

"Wha…" murmured Tom getting close to his brother "Where the hell where you gone?"

"**I wanted to play hide and seek**" answered Michael

"You… you… you…"

Tom really seemed angry, but after a moment he knelt at his brother's level and...

"Tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle!"

He started tickling him.

"_Ftang! Ftang!_" shouted Michael trying to push Tom away.

"You – made – me – nearly – die – out – of – fear!" was saying Tom while putting a fake fight against his little brother. Not even one minute later, they were both laying with their back on the ground, laughing.

"I told you it. You love him" commented Gabriel as Tom stood up again and helped his little brother

"It's not…" replied Tom, before Michael squeaked "It's twoo"

Lewis, who was still letting Luke play, chuckled and shook his head, murmuring something that sounded like "One is enough".

"All right, Gabriel, I'm going to help you, but when the problems are gone, I want you to introduce me your sister" said Tom

"Introduce you Helena? And why?"

"Well, I'd like to see how do you two get along"

"You and Michael are better, I think" commented Gabriel "But anyway, we'd better start looking for your father. Then, Helena is where Norm and the Team are"

"It's just that? You're look for my daddy?" asked Michael

"Well… yeah" answered Gabriel putting his hands in his pockets "Do you know where is he?"

"_Srane_. Yup. He says Bawbawa that Newton and Lauwa have awwived last night"

"He's at Barbara's!" quickly 'translated' Tom leading Gabriel to a small hut next to a root of the tree. He stopped in front of the entrance, and knocked on the wood, then he leaned inside.

"Hey, Dad! Norm's looking for you!" he nearly shouted

"Yeah, yeah, I was going there anyway" said Jake coming out of the hut

"There? Where? To the Colony? But if there are Sky People around…" asked Tom without even breathing between a sentence and the other

"Not to the old colony. To the new one. They all moved last night. Didn't you, Gabriel?"

"Yeah"

"So, what's up with Norm?" Jake asked Tom as they started walking to the New Colony. Barbara was behind them, very probably she wanted to meet her children.

"Gabriel knows better"

"Gabriel, what's up with Norm?"

"He thinks one of the soldiers I met last night match a description you made of an old friend of yours…" explained Gabriel "Michel, or whatever…"

"Had he scars on his face?" asked Jake

"A lot"

"Had he dark hair?"

"Yeah"

"Did he speak out my name?"

"Yeah. I didn't believe him when he said me you were his friend. I started pretending I didn't know you, but he didn't swallow it"

"I bet he got quite smart. That must be recent, he was not particularly brilliant at school"

"Well, Dad, when it's a best friend matter anyone's wit would be faster" commented Tom

"That's right"

The rope had been withdrawn, so they had to climb on a nearby tree and jump on the platforms from there. Gabriel counted at least four scratches on his hands and many more on his feet.

"Don't worry" Barbara said him "You'll grow calluses. It will be easier when you'll have them"

"I know" replied Gabriel "My 'real' feet just look like a hobbit's ones"

"A what?" asked Tom

"A hobbit. They don't really exist. A writer called John Tolkien invented them. Half as tall as a human, and they keep eating all day and have those thick calluses under their feet. But some of them become heroes. One day I'll tell you the story"

The other kids in Gabriel's shack were awaken, and some of them were looking out of the window. Adrian, for example, just looked amazed. Newt didn't.

Austin was outside with Serge and Norm, who were helping him to tie the stilts to his legs. He did not seem too happy.

"Do I really have to?" he was moaning "I don't want to make a fool out of myself. Please, Papa… I'll eat my vegetables. Anything but this!"

"You're ridiculous, Austin" commented Newt getting out of the shack "Shall we bet I can do it better than you?"

"You try it" said Austin passing him the stilts

"**Now we laugh**" said Gabriel

Newton sat on the wooden floor and tied the stilts to his legs.

_Mistake one: never sit on the ground. As those things are two feet high, I really don't know how will you stand, Newt._

He tried to stand up as he always did. And he just fell down on his fat bum.

_Mistake two: you'll never do it on your own. Not the first time. Unless you're sitting on a ladder and you have __a rope or something next to you which you can hold while you haul yourself up_

"Norm, may I…?" asked Barbara stepping forward

"If you want to" answered Norm

"What? She's helping him… but… doesn't she know him? I mean, he'd be able to point at her and tell her… you know what!" murmured Tom to Gabriel

"He'll recognize her soon. Newton's her son"

"Her _son_? I… just can't believe it. Boy, this is absolutely impossible"

Gabriel laughed. He still remembered when the very Newt, along with his sidekick Andreas, had said a similar thing about Peter.

"Well, she had Newt and Laura _before_ moving here, I think" explained Gabriel as Barbara hold out a hand and told Newton to hold on

"No" answered Newt, as Gabriel had expected him to

"Come on. Take my hand and stand up. Do you want to lose your bet with Austin?"

"Can't Norm help me? Or Max? Wait, I'll do it when my daddy comes here"

"Newton, _take my hand_. Come on. You didn't have all these tantrums when I tried to teach you how to walk"

Newt stayed silent and still for a moment. Then he looked at Norm and Serge. Then he shook his head. Then he looked at his mother.

"… Mummy?"

Barbara smiled and put a hand on Newton's head.

"Yes" she said

"I…" Newt tried to say

He turned white, then he blushed. Then he looked just like if he was going to turn the waterworks on. He tried to reach his eyes with a hand but his fingers clashed against the exopack.

"Forgive me Mum I've been such a stupid!" he spat out as he started crying

"It's all right. We all already forgave you long ago. And I'm sorry, Newt. I'm sorry I left you and Laura alone. That was the only way we could meet again"

Newt just kept crying, so Barbara untied the stilts so he could stand up again if he wanted to. Newt curled up with his forehead on his knees and kept on crying. It just seemed he was crying out every tear he had not shed in the nine years in which his mother was gone.

"_**Don't**_** laugh**" said Jake to Tom and Gabriel

Nearly everyone stayed silent. Even little Michael seemed to understand it was a special moment. He just kept staring at Newton and Barbara, looking confused.

Then Newt stood up with a last sigh and got back in the shack.

"It just seems all this drama thing was useless" commented Tom

"I don't think so" replied Gabriel "Maybe he just wanted to dry up his tears and blow his nose"

As Gabriel expected, Newt came back outside after no more than two minutes, and his face was clean. He was not alone: Laura was holding his hand.

"Hi, Mummy" she just said as she got out. She obviously had no memories of her, so she looked somewhat shy. Newt put an arm around her shoulders and smiled.

Maybe he wasn't such a bad kid, if Laura loved him so much. Maybe Laura had been the only one who could really _see_ him.

"So… where had we stopped?" asked Serge "Jake. We think one of the soldiers the kids met…"

"Is an old friend of mine, I know. Gabriel told me everything" answered Jake "And his description could match. One of the kids told me he had a photo. Austin, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I printed it!" stuttered Austin taking a sheet out of his pocket and handing it to Jake "_Et voilà_" he added, making everyone laugh

"What?" Tom asked Gabriel

"He said that's it. In French. One of the many Sky People languages. I know those because they're common words, even people who don't actually speak French usually know them"

At the moment Jake was staring at the photo, looking just like if he had seen a ghost.

"That's him" he said, lowering the picture "I would recognize that man even if he painted his face white, his lips red, drew a black line around his mouth, painted his nose red, and drew two big green squares around his eyes"

He grinned.

"He actually did it once. At the age of nine, in a school play. He was a great clown. He could start laughing even when the teachers menaced him to flunk him at high school"

"He does not seem a man who smiles too often" commented Norm as started coughing

"And you don't seem a man who should stay here. Bed, Norm, and now" said Serge "It just seems we have to discuss again, tonight. About this Michel matter. Could we trust him, if he said us he's a friend?"

"Once I would have put my life in his hands" said Jake giving the picture back to Austin "And I actually did it once. He's a trustworthy man, but he grew to despise the Army days before the accident who put a cap on our careers. I really don't know why did he decide to get back in that uniform. I don't understand him"

"Maybe he's come back to look for you, and he saw that as the only way" said Tom

Everyone stared at him.

"It's just an hypothesis" he quickly excused himself "I mean, for a friend I'd give away my ball, my slate and my slingshot. And I think anyone would give anything for a friend. Would that be a thing he could do?"

"He could. But… I know he made up a new life for himself. I knew he did it long before… I decided to come here. If he really wanted to look for me and decide to restart our friendship, why didn't he do it seventeen years ago?"

"Maybe he was just ashamed. Or he had made a family for himself. Or you covered your tracks so well that no one could find you"

"Cover my tracks? What the hell are you saying, Tom?"

"Well--- that's--- what I did--- when Michael got me pissed off"

Newt and Austin laughed. They looked into each other's eyes, then started laughing again.

"Siblings are always the same" commented Newt shaking his head "The younger ones overall"

"Hey!" replied Laura

"Lucky I'm a fraternal twin" said Gabriel grinning

"Hey, hey, is that Gabriel?" asked Newt pointing at him

"Yeah, that's me. Any problems, Newt?"

Newt just turned white and started stuttering.

"I'm not going to paint you purple now I'm twice your size" said Gabriel sitting "That would be cheating. I'm a fair player, thank you. What we did yesterday is enough for a lifetime"

"All right, kids. Stop chatting" said Da "We have a job to do. The sooner we end it, the sooner your father comes here, Newt"

"All right. Serge, David, we'll meet on the path" said Jake jumping down to the ground "Who else is coming, of the team?"

"Gerald and Manfred. And two or three more. Maybe even Annemarie, if she isn't too busy with keeping the order" answered Serge looking through the trapdoor

"Yeah, and who keeps an eye on Austin?" asked Norm

"I don't need the nanny!" replied Austin "And why the hell are you all worrying about me? I'm ten, not two!"

"Yeah, Austin, and what happened to me when _I_ was ten?" asked Gabriel "Do you have dirt in your eyes? Come on, you really thought that with…"

"Okay, Gabriel, don't tell him everything now" said Norm "You two boys just go somewhere and play. Michael, you can stay here if you want. Okay, you little tyke?"

"Yup Uncle Nowm"

"Gabriel, Thomas… _shoo_"

Tom didn't need to hear it again, he just grabbed a sleeve of Gabriel's T-shirt and led him away.

"Okay, okay, we'll go… we'll go"

As soon as they were out of range, Gabriel looked back and grimaced.

"Why did you surrender so easily? You said you wanted me to introduce you Helena!"

"Because when Norm acts like that, it means only one thing: something smells fishy. And, when it happens, it means he won't care at all about two kids trying to solve a mystery"

"If you say so"

"Wait for me where you met the Sky People. I'm going home for a moment. I'll be back before you can say goalkeeper!"

"Goalkeeper?" asked Gabriel, confused

"Hey, you didn't let me start running!"

_(Michel's POV)_

"Dad! Come, Joseph, Dad's calling!" said Elizabeth looking at the computer screen. Seconds later, Joseph pushed a bit his younger sister and tried to place himself next to her

"It's okay, kids. I can see you both" said Michel adjusting his microphone "How are you? All right?"

"Joseph got a D!" said Elizabeth with a mocking look "Mummy hit the roof when she found out!"

"Yeah, that's my own business, sis!" replied Joseph slapping her "It wasn't my fault, Dad. And… it was Home Economics. I just… well, made a mess. And it was Dennis's fault, not mine"

Oh, yeah. Dennis Fredricks was Joseph's best friend, but he acted a bit strange, and when there was some trouble, somehow Joseph was always blamed.

"Can't you find another friend? Someone who doesn't get you always into trouble?" asked Michel

"It's not that easy. You know, people like Jake Sully can't be found in every school" said Joseph looking daggers at Elizabeth "And, by the way, did you find him?"

"No"

Telling it was harder than the fair-haired kid's mocking.

"But… last night, I found a group of kids. Four humans, and a Na'vi, who seems to be one of the humans' stepbrother. Well, this kid, blond, quite tall, and wearing glasses, admitted he knows Jake _and his two sons_, Thomas and Michael"

"Thomas and Michael?" asked Elizabeth "Wow, he called one of his sons after you… so he still thinks you're his friend!"

"That's what I thought. Now, I'm going to look for that kid and his stepbrother again. Even if he mocked me, maybe talking to him again will make him change his mind"

"How old is he?" asked Joseph

Yeah, nice question. The kid was as tall as a teenager, but his voice and face unmistakably belonged to a boy not older than twelve. And he was quite thin, too. But all the four human kids were very tall. One of them would have been a great basketball player, if he had been born on Earth!*

"I think he was as old as Elizabeth. Eleven or twelve. His stepbrother seemed to be fifteen, but I don't know a lot about Na'vi, even if I can speak their language…"

"Or you can look for Thomas and Michael" said Elizabeth "If they do look like their father, finding them won't be so hard!"

"You think so, Liz, but… do you remember Ms Attolico? She didn't find out you were my children until I told her you were!"

"You're not Ms Attolico, Dad!" said Elizabeth laughing

Joseph and Elizabeth were everything keeping him walk on in his life. Them, and their mother Evelyn, of course.

She had been there when he had come back home, unable to see, unable to restart a life. She had been there for years. Then they had married, and Joseph was born. He had taught him to speak.

Then, the FBI situation. The operation room in which he had come back to see.

What had happened in that hospital.

Evelyn had said him he had been sedated too heavily, and he had risked to never wake up again. He had had a strange dream, during the time he had been blacked out.

_He had been in the school theatre, in his nine years old body, wearing the clothes he had worn in the school play._

_Tommy and Jake getting out of a box. Jake getting in another one. Tommy, letting a balloon fly and saying him he would have met Jake again if he just kept walking on his road._

"_Maybe you won't recognize him, but a person who is still to be born, a person who shares my name, will lead the way with an object from your past. Goodbye, Michel. Go there and make justice"_

_Then Tommy had climbed on a ladder, just like in the school play, at the end._

_He had felt lonely. Lost. Out of fear, he had climbed in an open box, the one who still had a balloon tied to the bottom, and had closed it._

Then, he had opened his eyes and seen a small dark-haired boy smiling to him, hugging him and shouting "Daddy!"

That had been one of the best days of his life. But he still had a wound that had not healed.

"Maybe this Thomas has something to do with your dream, Dad" said Joseph "That dream you made in the hospital. What can an object from your past be?"

"Don't know, Joe. Maybe… a top-hat. A scarf. A bottle. A school book. A weapon. A bomb. I've hold a lot of objects, son, and I honestly don't know what this object can be!"

BOOM.

"What was that?" asked Alan, checking the window behind Michel

"Yeah, what was that?" asked Joseph

"Sorry!" a voice shouted from outside the shack Michel and Alan were in. A kid's voice.

"Bloody hell" commented Alan "It just seems two meerkats are playing soccer right out there and hit a window. Lucky this is plexiglas"

"Meerkats?" asked Elizabeth

"Na'vi!" shouted Joseph "Hang on! Soccer! You said me you were a goalkeeper!"

"Yeah, and where did you hear about a Na'vi called Thomas?" asked Alan lowering his voice

"I'll go and check it out" said Michel standing up "Joe, Liz… bye!"

"Come back with good news!" said Elizabeth before shutting down

He had recognized the voice of the kid who had apologized. It was the eleven-years-old mocking boy.

* * *

_*** On Pandora, gravity's lower. So, if you, for example, put Gabriel next to his cousin Daniel, who's got his same age and was born and has grown up on Earth, Daniel would reach… well, **__**I don't know exactly as I study **__**Biotech**__** and **__**not Physics**__**, but he would not be as tall as his cousin, as the lower gravity has had quite an effect on Gabriel's growing bones.

* * *

**_

_**From next chapter: "The please-man"**_

"_**Yeah. Just forgot. I'm in the FBI**__**. A young man called Alan Doyle and I have been sent here to collect some evidences of Selfridge's crimes… and bring him back home tied up. We're under cover, obviously. I mean, we just couldn't step in and say 'Mr. Selfridge, we're signing in to kick your stinking ass into a jail for the rest of your useless life'… so we got some documents... fakes, in Alan's case, which demonstrated we were soldiers, and got a job as bodyguards for the new avatar team"**_


	10. The pleasemen

_**Hi everyone again! So, where had we left our story? Oh, yeah, Michel going out to look for the owner of the ball.**_

_**By the way, I got a 28/30 in Chemistry (and that's VERY good), I performed in "Before the Sun Sets" (and it was quite a success), and, at last, I managed to buy the Avatar DVD just this very morning, before attending the Physics classes.**_

_**I also helped my sister out with some English homework. She had to write an essay about a movie... guess it, which movie did she write about?

* * *

**_

_**I don't own nothing at all. Avatar belongs to James Cameron, Before the Sun Sets belongs to Giancarlo Attolico and Hakuna Matata belongs to Disney.

* * *

**_

Chapter 9

The please-men

_(Tom's POV)_

"Do you think he'll come out?" asked Gabriel

"He will"

"What makes you think it?"

"Er…"

Well, that was the worst plan of his life. He had kicked his soccer ball away… his _precious_ soccer ball… to hit a link shack and now he didn't even know if he would have got it back.

And… was the shack the right one?

They had come that direction following the dreamwalkers' footsteps. They were quite stupid, in Tom's opinion. They had not even thought about not leaving tracks, or at least erasing them!

The tracks had led him and Gabriel to their base camp, some "shacks" and a spaceship in a clearing. Then he had had this idea of hitting a shack with his ball.

"Anyway, he'll come out" said Gabriel grinning "He's got an outstanding hearing, and he knows my voice. In your opinion, why did I say sorry?"

"Oh. Great"

A man had gone out of the shack he had it. He ducked next to his ball, examining it. Then he stood again, touched it with a foot (but why did Sky People wear those things around their feet? They just made them smell!) and started bouncing it on his feet, then on his knees. He seemed a bit out of training, but once surely he had been outstanding.

"That man's a _champion_" commented Gabriel "Not even Austin can do it for so much time!"

"Hey, boys…?" asked the man letting the ball fall "Is this ball yours? Hey… is there a fair-haired boy with glasses?"

"No!" shouted Gabriel, holding back laughter.

"I said you they are meerkats" said another Sky Person coming out of the shacks "Two baby meerkats"

Hey! What did meerkat mean?

He got out of the trees, walking steadily to the younger man.

"Why did you call me and Gabriel meerkats? Don't call us names!" he asked angrily

The young man looked surprised and stepped back.

"What's up, Alan? Afraid of a child?" asked the other man. They surely were both warriors. They had weapons.

The older man looked in his eyes, maybe he was trying to look for something.

"Is this yours?" he asked, picking up the ball

"Yeah, thank you" said Tom reaching out "you know, you can't get a ball so easily around he… hey!"

The man hid the ball behind his back.

"Now, you call your Gabriel friend right here, and I'll give you the ball"

"No need for this, I'm here" said Gabriel stepping forward

"An avatar driver?" asked Alan "So, you're not both meerkats. At least, not entirely…"

Tom hissed, and Alan stepped back again.

"See _these_?" asked Tom showing him his hand "Five fingers, not four. And I'm no 'meerkat', whatever it means. I'm like you more than you can imagine it"

"Hi there, Gabriel" said the older man "So… can we talk as civilized people and not mocking each other?"

"It just depends" said Gabriel crossing his arms "I've talked with the adults. And they said me who you are… Michel Karloff. Now… why are you here?"

"I'm here to arrest Parker Selfridge" said Michel "Even if you see me as a soldier, I am no soldier. I am a… a policeman"

"A please-man?" asked Tom "What's a please-man? Someone who cares about manners?"

"Ha, ha, ha, very funny" said Alan "We're a bit like soldiers. Just, we only look for who has done something bad and we take them to a building called jail, so they can't go out. Understand, you half a meerkat?"

Yeah, he understood, but he was no meerkat, and no half a meerkat. Just when he had gotten rid of his first nickname, now the Sky People had given him another one!

"Shut it off! If you really want to call me names, use my own name!"

"If I can pronounce it, I will" said Alan

"Okay: six letters. T, H, O, M, A, S. But you can call me Tom if you want"

Alan turned white just like Newton had done. Maybe he had already heard the name. Michel nearly jumped on the spot.

"You said your name is Thomas?"

"Yeah, what's the matter? My Dad always says it's very common among Sky People. I've been called after my uncle. He never made it here"

Michel came closer. He looked in his eyes again.

"Can I ask you to say a thing?" he asked

"Okay. What do I have to say?"

"It's late. Got to go back to my mum and dad"*****

Tom blinked to Gabriel and prepared himself to turn his heels and run away.

"It's late, got to go back to my mum and dad!" he said in a mocking tone, and starting running

"You stop now, you urchin!" shouted Michel running after him "You'll see what happens when I'll talk to your father!"

"You got to catch me first!"

Tom and Gabriel ran faster. And faster. They surely were faster than the please-man, anyway.

"Okay, Gabriel… are we going in the right direction?"

"For what?" asked Gabriel. He looked a bit tired

"The old base! I want to lead them there! If he's a friend of my father's… he went there, remember?"

They ran, and ran again. Gabriel started moaning about his feet (and, in fact, he had a lot of scratches on his soles), but the old Colony was not so far…

"Come on Gabriel! It's the last bit!"

"What will my da and your father say?"

"Don't know. But we have to run the risk!"

They kept on running until the trees and plants were rarer… or better, until they didn't find David standing in the way, holding a basket.

"Stop it!"

He didn't need to repeat it.

"What are you kids up to?"

"There are… there are the please-men! They're following us"

"Please men?"

"_Police_men" said Gabriel lifting a foot to check it. Tom could count at least three or four blisters on it, and there was also some blood "They're pretending to be marines, but they're here to arrest Selfridge. The very Michel and Alan, Da!"

"So here you are" panted Michel getting out of a bush "Now, will you… oh, an adult at last"

"You must be Michel Karloff" said David crossing his arms as Gabriel did most of the time

"Yeah, why? Do _you_ know my friend Jake?"

"If you look for him, he's in the clearing ahead" intervened Tom pointing to where the clearing was

"What… are you saying that you were running like a maglev train just to take me to where he is?"

"Well, I don't know what's a mag-lev-train but… that's the point. He's my father, sir. He talked me a lot about you. He… he is sorry for telling you off. He really is. But he didn't start looking for you as I would have done, so… I decided to make the things happen at my own way"

Michel looked at him, then at the direction he had pointed at.

"Did you take this after your mother?"

"Maybe. Dunno"

"All right… so… now… I'll go"

He stepped forward, then stopped.

"No, I can't do it" he said, looking at his shoes "I just can't. Gabriel, you were right. I can't remind him of what he went through. I can't bring back to him his old life if he's happy the way he is"

"No, Michel, do it" replied David "You just can't forget your past. You _must_ remember it, but never let it be a burden"

"Huh? And who are you, an existentialist philosopher?"

"Not at all. David Locke, physicist, and one of Jake's most recent friends. Nice to meet you" said David holding out a hand

"Jake's friends are mine, too" answered Michel shaking it the best he could "Anyway, I'll just go and look for him. Thanks, David"

He went out of the forest. Now… he just had to wait for the two to become friends again.

"And you two... back to Hometree. _Now_."

_

* * *

(Jake's POV)_

Everything was going as scheduled. Almost all of the glasses had been broken, even if with a lot of effort. Everything that could be taken away was being taken away, and Lewis, who had come with them, had found in some stores some fuel cans that would have been used to set fire in some of the rooms, the ones where there was too much stuff to be taken away or destroyed with bare hands.

"Lewis, have you seen David? He had the matches!"

"He just went that direction, maybe he found something"

"Okay, I'll check it out"

He went to the direction Lewis had pointed to, just to find a man – a human – right in front of him, who had just come out of the grove.

"Hello, Jake" just said the man

He recognized the voice, even if he remembered it more… well, boyish. He recognized his pose, his grin, his dark hair and the scars on his face.

"I see you're standing at last" said Michel with the same smile of the nine-years-old boy who had played as a tipsy magician in a school play

"Yeah, and I'm glad you noticed it" answered Jake

They started laughing, both, as they had not done in years.

All night long, Jake had asked himself if Gabriel's report was real, if Austin's picture matched his memories, and what the hell Michel was doing _there_. Now he had two of the three answers to his questions.

"Your kid is a _dodger_" commented Michel sitting on the grass after some moments of silence

"Yeah, he's always been" said Jake imitating his friend "I just can't count the times he pretended to go to school and I found him skipping stones in a pond. Luckily, last time was one year ago"

"Last time you found him… or last time he did it?"

"Last time he did it. He started behaving since he got a friend"

"Lucky you! Since my son Joseph got a friend, he just gets himself into trouble!"

"So you got a son!"

"Two children. Do you remember Evelyn Aarons? That girl who was always seated next to Tommy at elementary school?"

"Evelyn? She was under Madam Sophie's skirt with you in the school play… so, did her boobs become as big as Madam Sophie's?"******

"No. But I married her anyway"

That was the funniest piece of news ever. Evelyn Aarons, at school, just could not even see Michel! To be sincere, Michel had asked her a lot of times to watch a match, to go with him to the school prom, dates… and she had always refused!

Jake once had commented that Evelyn was able to say only a word to Michel. _No._ Now why had she said "yes" that time?

"Married? She hated you!"

"Well, she hated me as soon as I was a swollen-headed footballer. But, as I understood, in reality she was crazy for me. And when I got back home, she was quite… moved because of what had happened. I mean, losing my sight and my best friend the same day. She told me everything she had not wanted to say at the high school"

"Did Tommy know about this?"

"Of course he did! Well, I invited you both to the wedding, but you never got the letter, as Tommy said me. Something about you didn't check the mail so often, so your neighbors took everything and just threw it into the junk… he would have told you, but he said me that as soon as you heard my name, you ended the call! Quite a shame, I really had wished you to be my best man… I think that was one of the rare times in which Tommy took your place"

Jake sighed. He had lost so much of life as it could have been, for a simple temper tantrum. If he had just… tried to forgive, maybe those dark years would not have seemed so dark. Michel had really tried to make heaven out of hell, and crap, he had done it!

"And, anyway… Joseph was born two years after you took off. And Elizabeth came one year after I was recruited in the FBI" said Michel "Joseph was the best damn thing that happened in my life. Even if he's always been a danger to society"

The Federal Bureau of Investigation? What? But… wasn't Michel wearing a soldier's outfit? And why would anyone send a policeman to Pandora?

"Yeah. Just forgot. I'm in the FBI" said Michel "A young man called Alan Doyle and I have been sent here to collect some evidences of Selfridge's crimes… and bring him back home tied up. We're under cover, obviously. I mean, we just couldn't step in and say 'Mr. Selfridge, we're signing in to kick your stinking ass into a jail for the rest of your useless life'… so we got some documents... fakes, in Alan's case, which demonstrated we were soldiers, and got a job as bodyguards for the new avatar team. Four scientists, two of which have been chosen as substitutes for two dead members"

He stayed silent for a moment, looking into his eyes. He knew the story, as it seemed.

"Having a déjà vu, aren't you?" he asked

Not just a déjà vu. That was a situation too similar to his… what had happened, this time?

"Who are those two avatar drivers?"

"Very young people. Siblings. The surname's Martin. Beatrice and Charles Martin. British. There were supposed to be their parents here, but they got killed in a car crash. Malfunctioning brakes. Or better, subverted brakes. The car was brand new. And they got killed the day before their DNA samples had to be taken. The Martins had another son, James David, I think he's called. He ended up in an orphanage… that's why Beatrice and Charles came here. They want to collect the money to take him out. The other two are Diego Seneca, a crazy Spanish geologist who kept smoking his cigar in the shacks until I stole his lighter" and he held out an iron cigarette lighter "and a young woman, in her late twenties. Florence Kay, she's called. Lost her mother because of a soldier when she was a teen, but she's not substituting anyone, luckily. All this situation is driving me crazy, but I'm happy to see you again"

He raised an arm to put a hand on his shoulder, as they had been used to do since fourth form.

"When you were shorter than me it was easier" he commented, trying to pat him

Jake smiled. Years had passed since that dreadful day in Venezuela, and that country itself was light years away, but they had been always the same. More or less.

"And on Earth? How's the situation?" he asked

"Well… awful as ever, but now RDA is in severe trouble. Do you know what's Amnesty International? Until some years ago they were human rights defenders. Now they are _sentient_ rights defenders… not just human. And now, Amnesty's bugging on RDA. The United Nations are doing it, too. If this mission turns out to be a failure, in any way, RDA's over"

"So, you're going to make RDA fail?"

"Exactly. They're desperate, Jake. They won't get only unobtanium this time. They're planning to take the scientists' kids on Earth and make them study. They just hope to find a new Einstein"

"Well, they've got a Newton, as far as I know, but he's quite half-witted. He took at least half an hour to recognize his mother!" said Jake in a mocking tone

"I'm serious, Jake. They really think it's a way. Or they want to make people on Earth think it's a way"

"The kids are well watched. No one could possibly kidnap them. Keeping them safe was the first thing we thought about when David and Norm heard the sonic bang"

"Good. Now, can I talk to one of the leaders of…"

"You're facing one. And don't do the goldfish face. You could drop your exopack"

Michel had his mouth wide open anyway. When he closed it, he shook his head, closed his eyes, opened them and said "You're kidding, right?"

"Never been more serious"

"Okay. So you're one of the leaders. Great. I leave my best friend for some years and he's become the leader of a clan…"

"Anything wrong?"

"Professor Follett just kept telling you had the numbers to become _someone_ important if you just put a bit of sweat in everything you did. And he was fucking right, damn it!"

"Yeah. Professor Follett. The one who said you were hopeless"

"I've already forgiven and forgotten him. Now he's teaching Joseph, but he'll retire next year. Lucky the boy got his mother's brains… he's got a D recently, but it was because of a prank made by a friend of his in an Home EC class"

"What did Joseph say about it?"

"Well… he said that people like you don't come out in every school"

"You talked to your children about me?"

"Why, didn't you?"

At the elementary school, Jake had heard a story about three brothers leaving in three different directions, one with a sickle, one with a cock, and one with a cat, and, after some years, the three brothers had come back as princes because one of them had gone in a country where sickles were not known, the second had gone in a country where day never came (and the cock had called the sun) and the third had gone in a country where mice had taken over, so the sickle, the cock and the cat had been considered like miracles.

Now he just felt like Michel and him were like those three traveling young men, who, after an adventure, had come back richer than they were.

They both had found a family (in Michel's case, _founded_) and had talked to their children of a long forgotten friendship.

Now they had met again, they were not young boys anymore. They had grown up, in different ways, but they were both adults.

"I did. At least to Thomas. Michael would be far too young to understand… I mean, he hardly speaks properly!"

"How old is he?"

"Three. And... he took a lot after me. If Tom's a dodger, Michael's a troublemaker. He just gives hell to everyone. But he doesn't know it. He just wants to have some fun. The only one who has ever managed to keep him calm for more than five minutes is his mother"

"That's obvious"

"Listen, Michel..."

"Yeah?"

Jake smiled. He was really happy his best friend was back, but now they had to come back to be the team they were… at least, for a day. Michel would not be going to lend him something if he asked him to. He would have asked him if he could do a part of the work.

"You said you have a lighter. Can I borrow it for a moment? David had matches, but David's gone, and I have to set fire to some fuel"

"David Locke? The physicist? I met him coming here. He's with the boys, I think. But anyway, here it is" said Michel handing him the lighter "Are you destroying everything, aren't you?"

"Well, so it seems"

"Great. Maybe I'll lend a hand. What can I do?"

"Keep the lighter and look for sergeant George Higgins. You'll recognize him easily... he's way shorter than you"

* * *

_(Gabriel's POV)_

Apart from the morning rush with Tom, the day had not been so special: there had been no school because of Norm's bad cough, so Gabriel had spent nearly the whole day playing with the Omaticaya kids and trying to learn to swim in a pond.

He had also told them a story, as they seemed to like his stories, then Da had ordered him to go to his hammock as he still needed to have a meal in his human body.

As he woke up in the link bed, he felt something itching on his face. He rubbed, and some green and red stripes were left on his hand.

"Who did it?" he asked, standing up

Newton was sitting in front of the computer, playing Guitar Hero. He turned and started laughing.

"It was not me!" he quickly said as Gabriel looked daggers at him "I didn't bring paint in my rucksack! And anyway, I've been out with Austin, Laura and my mum all day long. Only Ryan and Helena came in... and I've never seen Ryan pulling such a prank"

"So it was Helena, in your opinion?"

"Yeah. She was" said Adrian putting his clothes into a locker "I've seen her. And she had dirty hands, so she's guilty"

Newton quit the game, got a mouth organ out of his pocket and started playing a catchy tune. He was quite good at it.

"It means no worries, for the rest of your days... it's a problem free philosophy..." Adrian started singing

"_Hakuna Matata!_" ended Gabriel trying to clean up his face with a towel

"Gabriel, do you know? Max said me who my fatherwas!" said Adrian smiling "He was called Ryan Lorenz… he was an avatar driver!"

"Well, and you didn't imagine it?" asked Newt putting the mouth organ back in his pocket "You came out with us. We are all avatar drivers' children. So you must be an avatar driver's child. And, by the way… is he out there like my mum?"

"No, he's dead" said Adrian looking at his bare feet "The soldiers killed him. But he was a soldier, too… why do Sky People always kill their brothers? I mean… I nearly feel ashamed to be a human"

"Well, we aren't so human, as we live. My cousin Daniel always says on Earth everything is completely different" commented Gabriel "For example… there are no forests. And water tastes disgusting, so they all drink stuff in cans, and out there you can't see the sun and the stars without a telescope because there are too many lights and too much mist"

"Well, if Earth is such a hell it's not strange Sky People are bad" resolved Adrian "By the way, Gabriel, your mother said us to keep this for you" he said, handing him a packet made with leaves

"Enjoy your meal" said Newt "We've already had supper. Right here, in the shack"

He looked outside.

"Wish we could always stay out there. My mum's gone away a moment ago… and I already miss her. I could not even show her how well I can play my mouth organ!"

"Maybe you could record a tune and make her listen to it" said Adrian

"It would not be the same. I want to play for her."

Gabriel stayed silent as he started eating. Newton was changing, and quite quickly, too.

_Maybe Eywa has made a miracle or two_, he thought, _or maybe I didn't know him enough to say who he is._

Yeah, he always was the same stubborn fatty kid Gabriel had always known, but maybe his mother had started changing his soul.

"Just be patient, Newt. You know, when I first met Peter I had broken my glasses, so I could not see his face. It was quite a shame for me. I had always imagined the first time I was going to talk to him, my words would have been 'Hello brother, I see you'… and that would been a huge lie. The next time I met him, I recognized him for his voice. In some time, we'll belong here like we did in the old Colony. We just need to wait"

"And then let's wait" said Newt jumping on his bunk "Just hope it's not for too long"

As Gabriel finished eating and put the leaves away, a stone from the outside hit one of the windows.

"What's up now?" Newton asked leaning against the plexiglas "Oh… Gabriel? Your friend, over there!"

"When he's hearing you… just call him Thomas" answered Gabriel "He gets really pissed off when someone calls him names. As would anyone else do. I mean, you don't like it, when I call you water snake"

"Just stop it, blind bat!"

"I stop it if you do. Bye-bye Newt!" said Gabriel getting back in the link bed

"Stop, Gabriel! If your father catches you out there, you'll…"

"I've already done it. It will be all right. And anyway, this time it's going to be easier. Just don't drag me out of the link bed if my father is around. I've heard it might be dangerous"

"What, your father or the link bed?" asked Adrian as he started counting skunks

The link bed faded, and in its place appeared the wooden walls of the hut. Gabriel quickly jumped out of the hammock (lucky Peter wasn't there) and rushed outside.

Tom was waiting halfway, sitting on a tree branch.

"Your father is crazy if he wants you in your hammock so early" he commented jumping down

"Well, he has a point. He said I need the time to live both my lives. Yesterday evening he also said that when I won't be a child anymore, I'll have to choose. But… I won't talk about that until it's the time. And that would mean at least two or three years"

Tom stayed silent and nodded.

"Anyway, why did you call me?"

"I wanted you to meet someone" Tom explained "Come on, come with me!"

He guided Gabriel under a canopy where an old Na'vi man was telling something to a group of children and teenagers.

"**Here we are, Rafe'ekan**" he said to the elder "**This is Gabriel**"

Rafe'ekan smiled and stepped forward.

"**I see you, Gabriel, son of David**" he said, smiling "**Thomas here said me you want to become a…**" and he said a word Gabriel didn't understand

"**A what?**" he asked

"Storyteller" translated Tom

"Oh, yeah. _Srane_"

"**Just watch me, tonight, and tomorrow I will teach**"

"Okay. **All right**"

He and Tom sat down, while Rafe'ekan kept on telling his story. To be honest, Gabriel didn't understand a lot of it, but Tom kept on translating the hardest sentences, so it was not a big problem.

It was a story happened many years before Gabriel's birth, about a hunter who had managed to tame a toruk (and who, Tom added, was his great-great-great-grandfather) and had saved the clan in a time of great sorrow.

"I haven't heard stories about what happened twelve years ago if not from my parents" commented Tom once the story had ended and they were heading back to the huts "Rafe'ekan just says it is not his story to tell… I think he doesn't want to tell it because of his son"

"His son?"

"Yeah. His son died in the war. He was quite young. If he lived now, he'd be twenty-four"

"Wait. You mean he was twelve? And yet he fought in the war?"

"He was alone with a group of children, keeping them safe. He was the only one with a bow, and when soldiers came and tried to kill them all, he fought. His deed slowed down the soldiers… just in time for David and Gerald to come and stop them at once. But, if Rafe'ekan's son had not been there, there would have been no hope for those children. Hasn't your father ever told this?"

"Never"

"I bet he's sorry for that. Had he arrived minutes before, he would have saved _all_ the children" commented Tom "I heard the story from Sel'cral, who was one of those kids. That's why Sel'cral and Ha'sila are so bound to your father, too. They owe him the life"

That was a really sad story. He had heard of children losing their parents: his very brother was the living example.

He seemed to have no memory of his biological parents, but sometimes he just looked at the horizon, just like if he was trying to see them waving at him.

He had grown up in a new family, and he had found happiness again as his early years' memories were fading.

A child who had lost his parents could grow able to live with them missing, a parent who had lost his child would have always seen the scar. Maybe, Rafe'ekan just expected to see his kid running out of a bush and saying "Sorry, Daddy" for any prank he had pulled. Death was an acceptable thing, when an elder died. But a child's death surely was a tragedy, because a child would have had to live for years and years before his time had to come.

The sky was getting black. It was really late.

"I'd better go to bed. If Da finds me around here, I'm dead. See you tomorrow!"

"Okay! Bye!"

* * *

_(Charlie's POV)_

"Michel! You're back!" said Alan with a fake smile "You know, I thought you had found your Jake friend"

"I did find him" said Michel sitting on the nearest chair

"You mean... your Jake friend... was... _the_ Jake? Jake _Sully_? The one who led the very uprising?" asked Alan turning white "You could have told me it!"

"And what would have you done, then? Start sucking up to me? No thanks, Al. I wanted you to respect me for who I am, not for who my friends are" replied Michel "And don't call Thomas a meerkat again. Nor any of the Na'vi. They could take it as an offense"

He smelled of burnt, and had some grass under his shoes. Grass? Great, he had taken samples without noticing it!

"Michel, please, stay still" he said, taking a pair of tweezers from his desk and taking the grass.

"I don't understand it, Charles. It's just grass" said Michel examining his shoe

"When you're on Pandora, it's never just grass" replied Charley preparing it a piece of grass to put it into his microscope. He lit the microscope and started looking at it. It seemed no Pandoran plant at all. He had already saw that cell structure. It was a very familiar plant...

"This is no Pandoran green!" he announced "It's _frumentum aestivum_!"

"Speak English, you geek" replied Alan

"I speak it better than you, you Yankee" said Charlie "This is wheat! Understand it now? W-H-E-A-T. Kind of weed that grows… or grew… on Earth and from whose seeds bread is made"

"Well, probably someone planted it" said Michel "And I think I know who we're talking about"

"Who?" Alan asked

"Humans. The humans allowed to stay here" said Charlie with an annoyed voice "You've been around Hell's Gate, haven't you, Michel? And they were burning it down... weren't they?"

"How..."

"You smell like an abandoned bonfire. But, talking about wheat... well, this is wheat, sure as death and taxes, but there's something different. I'll have to make more controls. Michel, can you ask your friend Jake if there are more of these plants? These are not enough for all the tests I need to do"

"You're supposed to be the avatar driver. Go and look for the Na'vi, and talk to them" answered Michel crossing his arms "I'll show you the way tomorrow morning, if you want. We'd better go to bed, now. And about Jake... please, not a word with Selfridge"

"Hey! As a jarhead, you should be the one who just quacks behind him" replied Charlie "You can trust me... I'm just a poor science geek who signed in for his brother"

Michel went in his room, murmuring something like "I've already heard this". Alan smiled sympathetically and left the room, too.

Charlie was alone.

And, maybe, it was the right time to have a cup of hot chocolate and go to bed. If the things he had seen weren't a trick of the microscope, tomorrow was going to be a hard day...

* * *

_*** It's a line in "Before the Sun Sets".**_

_**** Another line of the show. There is a scene in which a little boy (the magician of the circus) and a little girl stay hidden under the enormous skirt of a woman on a ladder (Madam Sophie, Donna Sofia in Italian) and the girl asks the boy if she will ever have boobs as big as Madam Sophie's.**_

_**Rafe'ekan, the old storyteller, is a tribute to Rafiki, one of the characters in The Lion King. He'll have a major role in the following chapters.**_

_**Obviously, Charlie doesn't know Michel is NOT a soldier**_

_**From next chapter:**__** "Damn the DNA"**_

"_**And, one of the most important things you have to remember is that… nothing comes out of nowhere, and nothing really disappears. Everything, after some time, turns into something else"**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Author's Note: Irayo, TopKat90! I corrected the mistakes you signaled me. I really should double-check my stories before uploading them.  
**_


	11. Damn the DNA

_**I've started rewriting the Italian version of this story. I mean, there were two or three Italian readers who liked it, so… I just had to do something. This chapter has almost been totally imagined in English, except for the scene in which Gabriel and his friends watch a movie, which was present in Chapter 10 of the Italian fanfiction, and which I translated and expanded (in the Italian version, there are only Gabriel, Austin and Helena in the room, and Gabriel doesn't know Austin is an avatar driver).**_

_**The scientific names for Avatar and Na'vi have been "invented" by me. I really don't know if someone invented official ones. If someone did, please let me know!  
**_

_**The italic lines in the last scene are lines from "Before the Sun Sets". I translated them, but yet they belong to Giancarlo Attolico.**_

_**And Avatar, obviously, belongs to the great James Cameron!

* * *

**_

Chapter 10

Damn the DNA

_(Florence's POV)_

"So, why did you take me here too, if you're just going to ask whether you can get that strange wheat?"

"Because you're a geneticist. I need your help to find what's wrong in that wheat. I mean... normal wheat is not like that! And... you remind me someone. I don't know who but you do"

Here he was, the last one, but not the least, of a long list of people. Florence was sick and tired of living in her mother's shadow. She had been so since she was eight. Since junior high, she had only told everyone who was her father, and never who was her mother, but many people just recognized her mother in her. Damn the DNA! She was Florence Kay, not just _her_ daughter!

"Charlie's right" said Michel "I must have seen you somewhere, too"

"Oh, shut up"

She and Charlie were driving their avatars, while Michel was on foot. He had never wanted to use an AMP, he always said he wanted to stay in contact with everything around him, and to feel the wind and the ground.

"So, where are the Omaticaya?"

"I don't know exactly" said Michel "But Thomas is always playing around here, as Jake told me"

"Thomas?" asked Florence. She had known a Thomas, but that was long ago. Michel was surely talking about a kid.

"Jake's eldest" answered Michel "Always playing around with his friends"

"Well, it's Monday. Maybe they're in school" said Charlie raising his shoulders "I mean, you surely have heard about Dr. Grace Augustine teaching in a school"

"Well, that's respecting the right to a proper education" commented Florence with a smile "I hope the school's still there"

"There must surely be. Jake said me Thomas was used to play hookey until one year ago" said Michel "He had his head screwed on when he got a friend"

"So there's a school. We'll just have to look for it" said Charlie "Er… Michel… do you know something about that, too?"

"Nope, kid"

"Don't call me kid! I'm twenty-three!"

"You still look younger, anyway"

"Stop! Stop it!"

"Why…? Oh, you're right!"

There was a voice around, the voice of an adult man who spoke clearly English… maybe with a bit of accent, but it was definitely Irish accent.

"And, one of the most important things you have to remember is that… nothing comes out of nowhere, and nothing really disappears. Everything, after some time, turns into something else" was saying the man. As Florence peeked among the leaves in the direction the voice was coming from, she saw what seemed an avatar driver, talking to a group of Na'vi and human children. It just seemed right, a scene like that. It was as it was supposed to be.

"That's David" murmured Michel behind her "He's a physicist, as far as I know. But in free time he's an existentialist philosopher"

"Ever seen what he _really_ does look like?" asked Charlie

"No. I've met him just once. But I saw what his son really looks like. You did too, Charlie. Remember? The fair-haired boy with freckles and goggles-like glasses"

"The one who kept mocking you?" asked Florence "So, what's his name?"

"Gabriel Locke. He's Thomas's best friend. And the youngest avatar driver ever… and there he is. You can't be wrong, he's the only Na'vi looking kid with a T-shirt and a pair of cargo pants"

"Hey!"

A black boy with a cap turned to them and stood up.

"David! David! Someone's spying on us!" he shouted

David stopped talking and looked in their direction.

"Oh? Morning, Michel" he said, spotting the soldier

Two kids, including Gabriel, greeted Michel, who got out of the green and waved.

"Good morning everyone"

"**He's a friend of my father's**" explained a Na'vi boy who was sitting next to Gabriel

"Look at that!" murmured Charlie, looking surprised "The kid has five fingers, but…"

Yeah. The boy's nose was way too flat to be an avatar's. His toes were way too long, even if they were five like his fingers. And the eyebrows were almost invisible.

"He must be a half-blood" said Florence

"A half what?"

"Well, that's the vulgar way to say it" explained Florence "He is a crossbreed, I think. Between an avatar and a Na'vi. And I think he's the first ever, even if, as you try to confront the NV Transcriptase, it's a possible thing that may happen. Just like when you try to make a tiger and a lion mate"

"Like with tigers and lions? Oh… I just hope for him he's not…"

"Charlie!"

"Sorry"

"Even if they're not human, they're sentient. On our same level. They have rights like us, and you can't speak about him like you would speak about a liger or a mule! By the way, I think _he_ is Thomas. If Michel said he's Gabriel's best friend---"

"Florence! Charlie! Come over here!" said Michel gesturing to them

They both came out of the green and stood in the clearing, looking embarrassed. David just stared at her. _Damn the DNA._

"What's up, Da? Have you seen a ghost?" asked Gabriel

Then, David's look turned on Charlie.

"Maybe he has seen two ghosts" said the Thomas kid "But what's a ghost?"

"Dunno. My mum asked me if I had seen a ghost once I stared at something" answered Gabriel

"It's an old human belief" said David "But there's no such thing as ghosts. There are just people who look like other people. Don't you two? What are your surnames?"

"Martin"

"Kay"

"Kay? Like professor Bernard Kay? Are you his daughter?"

Florence recognized the man's voice. She had seen him, many years before, when she was a little girl and he a ginger-haired, near-sighted Physics scholar who liked playing with his portable game console.

Oh, well, at least he had recognized her for who her father was, and not for who her mother was.

"You were one of the kids who studied because of his scholarships, weren't you, _Dave Kenobi_?"

David laughed. He seemed to remember well that nickname the other students had given him for his passion for Star Wars and the resemblance he had with one of the characters.

"You know him?" Charlie asked

"I do. My father knew many of the old avatar team" explained Florence

"You've grown a lot, little one" said David smiling "You look a lot like your mot..."

"Stop it Kenobi, or I'll tell your kid what you did in the libraries!" Florence menaced him

"Okay, I'll stop it" said David smiling "Just stop it with that nickname. I'm not that boy anymore"

"Okay"

"So, Mr. Locke, I have something to ask" said Charlie "Yesterday evening, Michel here got back to the camp with grain plants under his shoes. I recognized it as _frumentum aestivum_, but there's something strange in it. Can we please have some plants of this wheat? This may be... this may be the start of something great, sir"

David stayed silent, looking pensive. He seemed to be interested in Charlie's idea.

"Wait a moment here, I'll look for someone who can help you. Or... Gabriel! Take Charles to Norm!"

"Sure thing, Da!"

* * *

_(Gabriel's POV)_

The forest was the same it had always been, but Gabriel was kind of afraid of that Charles man.

He had heard a lot of bad things about Sky People, and even if he had been born as a human, he could not really recognize himself as one of those colorless people who walked back and forth into gray streets.

_Homo sapiens_ or not, he just felt different. He had heard there was a scientific name for avatar drivers, too: _Gens Persona_, as the Na'vi were _Gens Coelestis_.

That was what he felt he was. _Gens Persona._ He knew _persona_ didn't mean "person" but "mask", but it was OK for him. It seemed just odd, instead, the scientific name for the Na'vi, even if "coelestis" meant both the color and the distance from Earth.

Well, as Da said, everything was relative.

"So…let's talk a bit" said Charlie "Do you have any brothers… or sisters?"

"I have a brother _and_ a sister" answered Gabriel without raising his head "My brother's name is Peter and my sister's name is Helena"

"Really? I have a brother and a sister, too. My sister is called Beatrice and my brother James David"

"Are they on Earth?" asked Gabriel, getting curious. Nearly no one of the boys in the Colony had both a brother and a sister.

"James David is. Beatrice isn't. She's here on Pandora. You have met her, I think"

"And you've met Peter, I think"

"Yeah. Your father has adopted him, hasn't he?" Charlie asked

"He's my brother. Fullstop" replied Gabriel stopping

"Okay, he's your bro. Sorry, kid. And what about Helena? Is she older or younger than you?"

"We're twins"

"Roger, roger. In my case, Beatrice's older than me and James is younger. He's about a year older than you. You are eleven, aren't you?"

"What is this, a police interrogation?"

"You know what's police?"

"My cousin Alfred was a policeman, until he didn't get fired" explained Gabriel

"Huh. No police interrogation, anyway. I just wanted to have a chat" said Charlie smiling "You can trust me. You have a scoutmaster's word of honor"

"What's a scoutmaster?"

"Well… someone who leads scouts. Wilderness explorers. I was a boy scout when I was your age"

"You surely could not be a wilderness explorer. There's no wilderness left on Earth" replied Gabriel

"Well… we just kept the name, I think" said Charlie smiling "Anyway, we owed a patch of earth. We just kept planting something in it until it didn't turn into a pretty good patch of… jungle. We all were very proud of it. If everyone on Earth just acted like we did, Earth would not be so much different from here"

He seemed to be really fond of Earth, Pandora, and green. Maybe he really felt he was a "wilderness explorer", in the deep of his heart.

"What did your parents say when you decided to come here?" he asked "You don't look so old"

"They're dead" said Charlie lowering his head "It's for this I'm here. The lawyers took Jimmie away. They say Beatrice and I don't have enough money to bring him up, so we decided to come here. The wage's good, so in some months we should be able to get a good sum, go back home and restart our old lives"

"Oh"

So, he was no wilderness explorer, not anymore. He just was one of _them_. But… losing his parents. That surely had been terrible. Maybe he had just been hurt by that. And… where had been his brother taken? To an orphanage?

"You're very lucky, living here" commented Charlie "You're staying with your family, I even bet you've got a lot of friends and then… this place is just beautiful"

"Well…"

"Well what?"

"My mother doesn't think so"

"Your mother's wrong. Believe me, once you've seen Earth, even tickling a sleeping thanathor can be a walkover. Just take my example… I have to wear an exopack even over there…"

"Why? I thought Earth atmosphere was not _so_ toxic"

"Yeah, it's not so toxic for who hasn't asthma" answered Charlie "Well, we'd better close this discussion. Just talking about my own problems will surely make you want me to fuck off"

"I've got my problems, too" said Gabriel raising his shoulders "So, are you a wilderness explorer or someone who came here just for money?"

Charlie fell silent and stopped.

"Dunno" he said "Believe me, Gabriel, I really would like to make a new life for myself, down here. I still haven't had a single asthma attack since we landed. I really like this place, it's like a bigger version of the Scout Headquarters. And… professor Seneca is acting just like my father did. But… I can't leave my brother alone. I just can't do it. I have my hands tied"

"Who's Professor Seneca?"

"Diego. You've met him"

"Huh. Diego. Understood. Anyway, we're here"

"Here where?" asked Charlie looking around "I mean, you've seen here… the greenery is so thick you can't see the sky! Are you sure you didn't get lost?"

"If you paid more attention, you'd see the tree branches and vines and moss are concealing rafters" said Gabriel pointing to a rather visible one "Up there, there is a platform. And that's where we live. Now, can you climb a tree?"

"Climb a tree… how high?"

"Quite high"

"What do you mean with quite?"

"I mean "just wait for me and I'll throw you a rope from a trapdoor""

Ignoring Charlie's protesting sentences, Gabriel started climbing one of the outer trees, the ones who could easily lead on the platform's border, and landed on the rafters, as the usual pain coming from his feet made itself hear.

He just sat down for a moment, trying to blow the blisters on his heels and to pick some of his scabs. Then he got the rope, he opened the trapdoor and threw it down, calling "Charlie!".

"At last!" replied Charlie climbing on the rope "Hey, you're bleeding" he said then, pointing to Gabriel's feet

"It's nothing, really" Gabriel replied "I bet I'll get used to it in some time"

"You should use shoes" commented Charlie patting him on his shoulder

"I should not" said Gabriel "Here, if you run, you'll end up with your teeth on the ground, if you're wearing shoes. For this, we always play barefoot. We human kids, I mean. As time passes, I should get some calluses, or so I hope"

"You surely will, if you always walk like that"

There was nearly no one on the platform. His old stilts, which now Newt was used to walk on, were forgotten on the floor.

"Guess no one's home" commented Charlie

"Well, we kids do attend school"

"So, your father is the teacher?"

"No, he isn't. The teacher's Norm Spellman, but he isn't OK in these days, so my da decided to substitute him for a day, as the supply teacher, Manfred Dale, has pissed off most of the Na'vi kids"

"Norm? The Norm your father talked about? So he must be here"

"Yeah. Him and Annemarie, the doctor of the team. If Norm gets bad… really bad, the Omaticaya will take him away to a place called the Well of Souls, and he'll pass though Eywa's eye"

"Boy, all of this speech has no logic"

"There are places science still can't reach" said Gabriel

"Huh, and who said it?"

"My father. A _scientist_. With a top marks graduate in Physics"

"Oh, and so who fills the blanks? Religion?" Charlie asked

"Maybe"

"_Holy rollers_"

"Eat your words!"

"Why?"

"Eat your words!"

"Won't"

"_Ça suffit!_" shouted Annemarie getting out of a mobile unit "Shut up, both of you!"

"Sorry, ma'am" said Charlie lowering his head. It seemed strange, as Charlie was, obviously, two or three feet taller.

"Yeah, yeah, you do say sorry, now you're not talking to a child!" replied Gabriel

Annemarie looked daggers at him, then turned to Charlie.

"Who's him?"

"One of the new team, I think" answered Gabriel "He was with a girl, Florence Kay, I think she's called"

"Florence Kay?" Annemarie asked "I used to know her"

"Are you one of her father's scholars?" Charlie asked "Like the kid's father?"

"I've got a name!" replied Gabriel

"Well, yeah, I studied under him. I also took some classes from him" answered Annemarie "But… has ever Florence told anyone about her mother?"

"No, I just know she must be dead. Once Florence said that a man with a gun just thought her mother was a weight for the universe, so I guess she's been killed"

"I know" Annemarie said "I know where she's buried"

"Yeah, let's talk later about funerals" replied Charlie closing his eyes and shaking his head "I'm Charles Martin and I'm a botanist. Got to talk to Norm Spellman. David Locke told me to"

"I'm here" said Norm getting out of the door. He was pale, there were shadows under his eyes and his nose was somewhat red, but he was on his feet and… he had no exopack.

"Norm, go back inside, you'll…" said Gabriel, but Norm was clearly breathing and _laughing_.

"It's okay, Gabriel. I was ill because of an invention of Serge's" he said "And… I even found out I exaggerated with it. I injected a double dose in my veins. That's why I got so sick. But I'm all right now"

"Thank goodness"

"Yeah, yeah, thank goodness, Eywa and maybe even the Force, but let me talk now!" intervened Charlie "I've got some tests to do, holy shit!"

"Easy, boy" said Norm walking forward to face him "Just explain us everything, but please be calm. What has Gabriel done to you?"

"He… he… nothing" said Charlie lowering his head

"Okay. What do you need from us?"

"Well… one of our team, a soldier called Michel, was on your old base yesterday. When he came back, he smelled of ash and had some wheat plants under his shoes. But that wheat… it didn't seem common wheat, I never saw something like that. I would like to have more tests on it, but I need more samples of it, and, more important, I need to see how do these plants act in this environment"

Norm listened carefully, then nodded and smiled.

"We have some plants stored in the units. I can give you… well, ten of them. We destroyed our fields at the old base, but we have kept some of our plants. Not just wheat, also beans, corn and tomatoes. I'll give you some of the plants, but at the only condition you'll forget this place as soon as you're gone"

"I will, sir"

"Good. Wait outside, I'll be back in a while"

– _Six days later (still Gabriel's POV) –_

On the computer's screen, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were fighting over a burning river. The movie was very old, a century and a half, and was one of Da's collection in the laptop computer.

Da had many old movies, more than a hundred. As they were old, they did not take a lot of room in the laptop. Just a few megabytes, compared to the terabytes and more of the recent motion pictures.

Gabriel was sitting on a chair, Austin on another one, and Newton and Adrian on the ground, while Helena and Laura were on their bunks.

"Lights off, kids" said Annemarie entering the shack "Bed. Come on!"

"But Mama, the movie's nearly over!" protested Austin

"Movies are not important. The real world is out there"

"Yeah, out there" commented Austin grimacing "Nearly everyone stares at me. They don't do it with no one else. I think they consider me ridiculous"

"You're not ridiculous" Helena replied

"They have not seen so many humans" Gabriel said his sister "Maybe the older kids have known a lot of humans, but these ones are our age"

"And they set me aside" Austin continued "When I want to play soccer with them, I'm the last one being chosen, if Gabriel or Tom aren't the captains. I feel… useless"

"It's not strange, at your age" Norm said "As time goes, they'll understand, and you'll do, too"

"And by the way, you must not despair. You've been faster than me, learning the language!" said Gabriel "Sooner or later, they'll stick up to you as they're sticking up to me, because they'll have no difficulties talking to you!"

"I know, but they don't care what language you speak, when they know you can keep up"

Norm looked at Annemarie, nodded and uttered "Tomorrow".

Annemarie shook her head in denial.

Norm nodded again.

"Okay, you can stay up, but only until the movie's not over" said Annemarie in a surrendering tone "Then, bed"

"Great, Mama!" shouted Austin hitting the play key

Annemarie and Norm went out, leaving the three kids watching the end of _Revenge of the Sith_.

"Something smells fishy" said Gabriel as the duel seemed to be ending

"Hey!" protested Newt standing up and holding up a fist

"I said fishy, not water snake" replied Gabriel "I was talking about Norm's strange behavior"

"Well, he didn't behave in a strange way only today" Adrian commented, standing up and patting the dust off his oversized cargo pants "Do you remember that crazy stunt with Serge's virus? He didn't listen to him and he got sick for three days!"

"Yeah, but what was he trying to say to Austin's mother? Austin, the thing is far too strange. And… you're the only kid whose parents are both avatar drivers!"

"And so?"

"Well, what would you do if your parents passed both through the eye of Eywa?"

Austin looked at him, terrorized. Probably he had never thought of that possible situation.

"He'll survive. Laura and I did, why can't he?" Newton intervened "Now, the situation is even changing. Tomorrow, we'll all be able to wander around without exopacks, remember? Annemarie said the thing has made its effect. It's going to be all right, guys. Don't worry, Austin"

"Yeah, and why did you cry like a banshee when you saw your mother taken away?" Austin asked "We haven't forgotten who you were, Newt. A week ago you were a big toad whose only wish was to beat Gabriel up! And he's still got a black eye!"

"Well, that's more like purple, now" Helena commented "But Austin's right. Newton, you can't behave like that when some time ago you pointed and screamed as you saw a Na'vi"

"I've learned the lesson. Okay? Just shut the hell up now"

"Okay, Newt, but don't forget… we learned it before you did" resolved Helena jumping down from her bunk

Then, she put her hands on Austin's shoulders.

"They would never leave you alone. They're your parents. Surely, they must have done, or be doing, something"

"And that's where Norm's words are leading us" Gabriel said walking back and forth "Austin, you're an avatar driver. You've been it since the day you were born"

"Really?"

"My da told me you are. And anyway, why would they want you to use the stilts?"

"That's just great!"

"No, that's just wrong. You'd be taller than me again!"

Austin started roaring with laughter, and the other four kids imitated him.

"Well, it just seems a lot of things has changed" Helena said as Austin was turning the computer off. No one minded it, even if the movie was far from over "I just hope everything won't change too much"

"Well, just because everything's changing, this doesn't mean things are coming back the way they were" commented Gabriel kicking his sandals away and taking off his coat "The situation is coming back as it was. Before Pandora was invaded"

"Yeah, if RDA won't take over again" resolved Austin climbing on his bunk "I hope they don't. I mean, I speak English and French, I can use a computer and play soccer and basketball, but… would you ever go on Earth?"

"And leave Mum here?" Newt asked "Never!"

"We were born here!" Laura shouted

"Those people killed my father!" moaned Adrian

"Are you crazy, Austin?" Helena said

"No. Way." resolved Gabriel

"You were joking, Austin, weren't you?" said Newt "You can't even imagine what Mum told me about Earth!"

"Okay, the debate's over" Austin resolved taking off his trainers, his cap and his t-shirt and getting under the blankets "Good night, _mes amis_"

* * *

_(Charlie's POV)_

The room was silent, except from the noises coming from Michel's computer. He seemed to be watching something like a movie.

Charlie got closer. It was no movie, it was just what seemed an old school play. There were two children and a teenage boy on stilts on a stage, and a mixed group of kids and teenagers just behind, in the shadows.

"_You'll see the show!"_ was saying one of the two children, who wore a purple coat and a top-hat and was heavily made-up

"_Leave me alone, you beanpole!"_ shouted the other kid to the teenager. He wore nothing but a blue t-shirt, and teal pants, comparing to the coats of everyone else on the stage.

"_He's reacting! That's a good sign!"_ the boy on stilts said _"Let's just leave him alone"_

"What's that?" Charlie asked Michel

"Before the Sun Sets. It was a play I performed in" explained Michel "Do you see the boy with the hat? That was me"

Charlie looked again at the boy and smiled. Yeah, now he knew it, it was definitely Michel.

"What's the play about?"

"A circus… whose artists are all dead. Angels. As a new artist comes, he doesn't want to go with them, he's afraid. And then, my character, who's been playing the fool for all the show, starts being sympathetic to him and gets him ready for the great journey"

"_I've been trying to see you from this distance"_ little Michel was saying _"and doing it every night, now I need to wear glasses! But… can't you see me? Don't you never raise your head? Are you near-sighted?"_

"Who wrote this show?" Charlie asked

"Don't know. Apparently, an Italian man, more than a century ago. Surely, no one who knew the Na'vi"

Charlie looked at the other kid, the new artist, the afraid one.

"That kid's really dead" Michel commented "He was shot dead seventeen years ago"

"Did you know him well?"

"Of course. His name was Thomas Sully, but he was Tommy for everyone. I was his friend, but… his brother was just great. Always trying to chase away the nearest bully, always trying to win a cause against the teachers, always trying to make the soccer team win every match… there was a teacher who said he could just become president if he just applied himself as Tommy did. And where did he end up? Out there!"

"Yeah, I know the story" Charlie said, as Michel hit the rewind kid until a scene in which Tommy climbed into the box and went out… but was the boy getting out of the box really Tommy? He was turning somersaults, doing handstands and cartwheels, even standing on a single hand!

"Jake Sully" commented Michel, nearly laughing "Smart kid, danger to society and soccer champion. As I knew him"

"People do change" said Charlie, looking at the nine-years-old child as he hid in the box, while a girl with big boobs took him out… or better, took _Tommy_ out. He had seen pictures of Jake, but they were pictures of a nineteen-years-old soldier, of a man in his early twenties stuck in a wheelchair, and of an avatar, on newspapers and news when he was a little kid and during his training.

"Yeah. People do change" said Michel "I fear he's stuck here now. I just hoped… I could find him as I left him"

He stayed silent for a moment.

"He's bound to this place as I'm bound to Earth now. We both know our roads will have to part again. It's just a matter of months. And… it's going to be everything as it was before I came here. I mean, I don't think Na'vi use computers!"

"He's your friend…"

"And we'll be light years away, Charlie. Just be an adult!"

"I am an adult!"

"Well, you still think like a child. The perfect team just doesn't exist. You think you can be friend with that Florence Kay, but as soon as you go home, she'll go back to Stanford, and you'll go back to Cambridge"

"I'm from _Kings_bridge"

"Yeah, but you graduated in that university, didn't you? So… you'll work there, she'll work in Stanford. Also because… you'll have your brother to look after to, won't you?"

"We could always move. I mean, if my research turns out to be a success, maybe someone in the USA will be interested in it and… or Florence could move. We're working together, we can't just split up!"

Michel turned on a light. Everything had happened to him just seemed to be painted on his face. That man had seen the devil and survived the encounter.

"I really would like to be as optimistic as you are, boy. I really don't know why are you carrying on. You lost your parents. You lost your brother. You're on a planet…"

"Satellite"

"… whatever… light years far from home, and the only thing you're thinking at is how to look after to your brother and start a new life with your new friend!"

"I guess the show just has to… go on" Charlie said smiling "I know, I'm torn. This place is everything I dreamed, yet I have to go home. But maybe, if my studies turn out for the best, less children will be born with asthma like I was. And by the way, thanks for stealing Diego's lighter. I really didn't know how much time still could pass before I could get an attack"

"You're welcome"

"By the way, who knows, Michel? Your story, too, could turn out for the best. Just try to be more… optimistic. You know, once I went with my parents in Italy, in a city called Trieste. We visited a castle, and Beatrice and I got interested in two bronze statues which once were ringing a bell in the main square. And… do you know how do the people in Trieste call them? _Michael and Jacob*._ Isn't that fun?"

Michel grinned, then started laughing.

"Is that real?"

"Yeah. You know, my mother always said artists can see beyond what common people see. I mean, just see that "I've tried to see you" line. You said me the show was written in the twenty-first century, when no one knew about Pandora! But now we know what does "see" mean for the Na'vi and… if we consider that meaning of the sentence, it's even better if we interpret it like that!"

Michel went back to that scene and watched it again. The Michel in the video, an innocent kid sitting next to one of his best friends, playing as a magician, was smiling to the audience, saying them he had ruined his eyesight trying to see them, or, interpreting it as a Na'vi would have done, to understand them… and asking himself why they could not see, understand him.

"I really would like someone answered this question, now you make me think about it" Michel said "I really ruined my eyesight, fighting for my homeland. But they have never done something in exchange, they just let me in the dark… it's real. I've really tried to see them, and I went blind"

"The universe is just strange. I just hope… I just hope Mum and Dad, wherever they are, are happy. I just hope they see me, I wonder if they are proud of what I become…"

He felt like if he was going to cry.

"I miss them!" he spat out, as tears were streaming down his face

"_If you just knew how much I love you, you'd cry out of joy_" was saying Tommy to the audience in the movie

Charlie just cried. And kept on crying. He had not cried at his parents' funeral, but now he just turned the waterworks on. He just wanted to throw out everything he had been keeping inside for years, and had scarred his heart.

"_What is shed never really gets lost_" was saying a girl, squeezing a wet sponge. Charlie raised his head. The show seemed to be ending.

The girl was talking to a little boy, who was holding a stuffed snake. In the end, the boy spoke.

"_Traveling audience, it will end well!_"

* * *

_*** It's real. But I didn't create Michel basing on that. I remembered it some days ago, when I was recalling a trip in Trieste I did with my family and friends.

* * *

**_

_**Can I ask you a pleasure? I need to find a name for a Na'vi girl. Can you suggest me some?

* * *

**_

_**From next chapter "Fly, Peter!":**_

_**Something walked on the branches of some trees above, making a slight noise... until it, or better he, did not land noisily on his feet.**_

"_**I just think my ears are burning" said Tom with a sly grin**_


	12. Fly, Peter!

_**So… from now on, I'm not translating ANYTHING from Italian anymore. I stopped writing the Italian fanfiction at chapter 10. This part… I'm thinking at it in English.**_

_**Author's note: In Austin's POV, **__when I write like this__**, it's French speech.

* * *

**_

Chapter 11

Fly, Peter!

_(Austin's POV)_

He just felt nervous. When they had woken up, they had found Max tinkering on the two remaining link beds of the shack.

Gabriel had just crossed his arms and grinned, saying "What did I say you?", while Newt had quickly asked Max why was he activating three link beds.

"The third is Adrian's"

"_Adrian_?" asked Newt, nearly shocked "Adrian's a brat! I'm older than him!"

"Well, do you really think you deserve to be an avatar driver, after what you've been doing at the Colony?" Max asked, after a minute of silence

"Me… I… sorry"

"Apologizing is not enough. You need to prove us you've changed"

As Newt sat on the ground and started asking Max to forgive him, Austin started talking to Gabriel about the link bed.

"It's going to be all right, Austin. You just stay in there and try to do something to fall asleep. You just have to have the mind blank. If you worry, it's just worse, you have to stay calm"

"I'm nervous anyway"

"It's not Mr. Bruno's class test! I mean, what would Peter say? He's going to tame a banshee today!"

_Tame a banshee?_

Austin had not met Gabriel's stepbrother so often, but he seemed a nice boy, who had taken a lot after David in behavior. He seemed… way too easy-going to be going up the mountains and tame a huge flying beast who would kill him if he failed.

"Yeah, he's quite nervous" Gabriel said, nearly answering to his silence "Last night, Da told him why he had given him that name. He said him he just can't wait for him to fly"

Austin smiled. He was glad he wasn't the only one who had a task that day.

"Why did he call him Peter?" he asked

"After Peter Pan. The lost boy. A boy who could fly"

"Oh, that's right"

"My dad said me we can go up there in the mountains with the chopper. He's going to fly it" intervened Newt "And he also said I'm going to stay in the cockpit with him!"

"Are you serious, Newt?" Gabriel asked

"Of course I am!"

"So tell your father he'll have four more passengers in the rear. Me, Thomas, Austin and my Da"

Newt grimaced, but then grinned and went out of the shack to tell his father everything. He seemed to stop a moment to get an exopack, but then he clearly remembered they didn't need them anymore.

Norm's brave (and stupid) deed had ensured safety for all the humans living on Pandora: after being sure he was all right, Papa had injected everyone with that thing he had invented. They had been slightly sick for a day or two, but not as bad as Norm. And, when they had gotten well, they had found out the air out there was breathable. The most afraid one had been Gabriel, but he had quickly gotten used to it because of his avatar driver's status.

"Wait. Gabriel. I'm not going to get in a chopper, not with a body I can hardly control!"

"What's your problem, Austin? You're the tallest boy in the Colony! You won't get dizzy. And there will be my father with us. We'll be safe. And you've never felt airsick, so why should you feel today?"

He had a point, actually. And it was not the first time they went on a helicopter: they had done it several times in the previous year, and it had been really fun.

"Take it easy, Austin. I'll wait outside!"

He jumped in his link bed and closed the lid. It seemed so easy… but Austin could not help feeling nervous.

"He's right" Max said, standing up "It's easy. You just have to calm down a bit. Relax. It's going to be all right"

"Okay"

"Now, if you please… come on, get into the link. If you want me to, I'll keep on talking, so you won't feel scared. Or… well, why don't you try to think to a nice song? That's a way to clear your mind… and take off that cap please"

Austin put his cap on his bunk, climbed in the link bed, closed his eyes and tried to remind the song his mama always sung him as he was younger. How did she sing it? Oh, yeah.

_Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?  
Brother John, brother John?  
Morning bells are ringing! Morning bells are ringing!  
Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong._

He just hoped all those nerves really did fade with the song… _are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?_ … and anyway, that song, which talked about sleeping and waking up, just seemed the right one… _morning bells are ringing_ … why had it seemed so easy, in Gabriel's case?

* * *

_(Gabriel's POV)_

Austin's avatar was laying down on a "mattress" of fallen leaves, on the ground. Someone had already put some clothes on him: he was wearing an old basketball outfit, which probably had belonged to his father (and would have been too big on a child, but on his avatar just was OK), and he had a cap on his head. As Gabriel could see, his hair was not curly as it was in his real body.

"Why is he taking so much time?" Gabriel moaned

"He must be afraid" Da explained. He, Norm and Serge were there in their avatars, waiting for Austin to wake up.

"And he's taller than me. Again" commented Gabriel, making everyone laugh.

As their laughter faded, they could hear a murmur, which Gabriel recognized to be an old song his mother sang to him.

And Austin was muttering it, just in a different language!

He had waken up!

"Hey, Austin, why are you singing _Fray Felipe_?"

"Phew!" uttered Austin, opening his eyes and trying to sit up

"Easy, son" Serge said, putting a hand around his shoulders and helping him "It's all right"

"Hi, Papa" said Austin looking around and shaking his head

"Are you okay?"

"Kind of. It's so strange…"

"It's all right. You just need to be used to this. Now… give me a high five!"

Austin raised his right hand and hit his father's. That was good.

"You see?" Serge said "You're all right. If you want to, try to stand up now"

"All right"

He didn't seem so sure he wanted to, but he slowly put one foot on the ground, then the other one, and then straightened his legs to stand up.

"Okay. Easy, now" Serge said, taking his hand "Are you all right?"

"Well... yeah"

"I said you you should have trained on stilts" Norm said "Stubborn kids"

Gabriel just yawned. That was boring, even if Austin was his friend.

"Da, did I tell you Newt's father's going to take us in the mountains on the Samson?"

"Well, you're a bit too late. George already told me everything"

"_Phew!_"

"Are you bored? Why don't you go looking for Tom? He should be around here"

"Okay-- I'll be back in five minutes!"

He opened the trapdoor, threw the rope and let himself go down. His soles and palms had started getting harder, and that was one of the best chances to grow calluses. Well, sometimes he still got scratches or cuts, but blisters were only a bad memory. Or to be honest, were going to be Austin and Adrian's problems.

He spotted Ateyo and Txur'itan playing in a nearby clearing, probably hide-and-seek. They ran at him.

"**I see you, Gabriel. Is that true?**" Ateyo asked

"**True what?**" replied Gabriel

"**Norm told us today your brother's going to tame an ikran**" peeped Txur'itan

"**It's true. He's worried. But that's not the only thing happening today. Do you remember Austin?**"

"**Aus'teen? Yes, why?**"

"**Because I think he has outgrown everyone in the class!**"

Ateyo and Txur'itan looked baffled for a moment, then started laughing. They seemed to have understood it.

"**Have you seen Tom?**" Gabriel asked them

"**Yes**" Txur'itan answered. Of the two, he was the one who got along best "**He and his father have gone to practice archery, I think they won't come back so soon**"

"_Carajo_!" Gabriel moaned, forgetting which language was speaking. His two classmates just looked puzzled.

"**Sorry**" he said grinning "**I just lost the control of my speech. Don't mind the word, please. My father's going to kill me if he hears me swearing in... in...** Spanish"*

"Spanish?" Ateyo asked "**I thought Sky People spoke only English**"

"**Well no they don't. And don't make me repeat the list because I already told it Peter and Tom. I'll just say you Sky People have a lot of languages, and I only know two of them. English and** Spanish"

"**And the other kids?**" said Txur'itan

"**Some speak only English, some English and other languages. But it's a matter too big for me to understand. There are too many languages on Earth**"

"**But what did that strange word mean?**" Txur'itan asked

"**I said you, don't mind it. It's just like when Tom says** _crap_"

"**So you all have a personal way to swear?**" Ateyo asked

"**Not quite. Newt, for example, says **crap** just like Tom. And until some days ago they could just not see each other without scowling**"

Ateyo and Txur'itan laughed. Just as something walked on the branches of some trees above, making a slight noise... until it, or better _he_, did not land noisily on his feet.

"**I just think my ears are burning**" said Tom with a sly grin. He was holding a bow in his right hand

"**They aren't**" sheepishly said Txur'itan, who did not know the meaning of the sentence "**Weren't you with your father?**"

"**Until a moment ago, yeah. But he had to lead the young hunters to Iknimaya. There's Gabriel's brother among them**" explained Tom

"**We know**" replied Ateyo "**Gabriel told us**"

"**You got a bow! Can you let us see it? Please!**" begged Txur'itan

"**Txur'itan? Get. Lost.**" replied Tom patting Gabriel's back "Let's go somewhere else"

"Yeah, I think Austin's still up there" Gabriel said turning his heels

"Why? He's always after you… or trying to keep up"

"Well, he's got a tough nut to crack this morning" explained Gabriel "But as soon as he's ready, Newt said his father will take us on a chopper up in the mountains"

"Really?"

"Yeah. Come on, let's go to see how Austin's doing"

"What is he doing?"

"Well… he's become an avatar driver!"

"Oh. So that's the tough nut to crack"

"Let's go… before they take off without us!"

* * *

_(Michel's POV)_

"Look at there, Alan!"

He found it easier say "Alan", now he knew where Jake was… well, quite. It was a week they were not moving from the base, so Alan and him just were wandering around the camp, sometimes chatting with the soldiers. Alan had been collecting information about Selfridge, and the former head of SecOps, an old colonel called Miles Quaritch. There were not many people who wanted to talk about him, maybe it was the time to ask Jake something about him.

If just Charlie and Florence got out of that damn shack! If he just went there and looked for Jake, Selfridge would have started growing suspicions, and so would have done Colonel Keith Lynch, the _current_ head of SecOps. He had met him just once or twice, while Alan knew him better, and he seemed a good sort.

"That's a chopper, Karloff. Just a damn helicopter" Alan replied

"No it isn't. No helicopters went that way, in these days. It must belong to the Colony People. Who knows where they're going"

"Well, there's just one thing to do in a case like this"

"What?"

"We ask Diego!" said Alan running to the shack.

He still acted as a child, even if he was tall and broad and muscular: even with his karate black belt and weapon mastering and everything else, Alan Doyle was still very young.

When he came out, he was alone, but the four avatars were getting out of a makeshift hut right next to the mobile unit.

"Zach! We're taking off!" was shouting Diego to their pilot, Zachary Merrill, who quickly got into the cockpit

"Where are we going?" Zach asked, as the six team members climbed into the rear

"Just follow that Samson!" said Alan pointing to the sky

"Okay, cop" said Zach with a laugh.

Alan burst into laughter, and so did Michel, as the helicopter just kept flying higher, and higher, until they reached the other Samson.

Now they were closer, Michel could spot two flying creatures… banshees, they were called like that. Mountain banshees, or as the Na'vi called them, ikran. Someone was riding them.

"Whoa!" shouted Charlie, grinning "Samson ahoy!"

The passengers in the rear of the other helicopter, that David physicist, his preteen son, another boy, taller than Tom and Gabriel, who was holding his cap, seeming afraid to lose it, and Tom, just started laughing. In the cockpit, there were George Higgins and a chestnut-haired, dumpy boy who Michel had seen once with Gabriel, his Na'vi stepbrother and another three kids.

George directed his helicopter until they were in the mountains. And that was a show. Charlie just gazed at them, eyes and mouth wide open, Beatrice and Florence never stopped turning their gaze to admire this or that piece of rock, and Diego was uttering something in Spanish. George's Samson landed on a plateau, and all the four passengers in the rear jumped down, Cap Boy being the last. The two banshees landed, too: one of the riders turned out to be Jake, and the other one a woman, who seemed to be quite high in the ranks as she was wearing somewhat elaborated garments .

"Just land this thing, Zachary Merrill!" protested Alan as Zach tried his best to land

Alan and Charlie were the first ones jumping down, quickly followed by Beatrice and Florence. Then Michel came down. The last one was Diego.

"Good morning everyone!" nearly shouted Alan, causing the Na'vi woman to leer at him.

"Alan!" Michel scolded "I really don't need a stupid like you to make fools out of ourselves in front of my friend"

"Hey, Mr. Michel!" shouted Tom waving

The priestess stared at Tom and started asking him something, looking quite worried. Tom smiled, replied and looked at him, then at Jake, who laughed.

"Neytiri, that man over there is Michel. I know him since we were both six years old" said Jake

Yeah, good memories. A hot September morning, a tantrum with his father because he did not want to spend all day in a place where someone would have told him to write A, B, and C, and D, and twenty-eight kids gathered in a class, looking for their name on a desk.

Someone had placed a brown-haired kid with a heavily bandaged wrist called Jake next to Michel, and so, with a chat about Jake falling off a bike and a chewing gum, a friendship had begun.**

He did not pay attention to what Jake was saying to _him_, but, now he was thinking about it, that woman surely was Thomas's mother.

"Nice to meet you" he said, getting a step closer.

He felt embarrassed. This did not seem his world, yet his best friend ever had adjusted himself to it.

_Heh. You've put your roots in the __garbage dump, you old chap Michel, _he said to himself, _and now you're out of it, you're out of place!_

"So why are you all here?" he asked

"There is a group of kids who have to pass a task. Not them… they're just looking" answered Jake looking at the four preadolescent who had come in the helicopter "Older ones. They're to go up there, in the Banshee Rookery"

Charlie grinned and looked interested.

"Huh. Big flying dinosaurs. Great"

"You're not invited, you Doctor Moron" Gabriel replied, laughing

"And why would _you_ be?"

"Because my brother's up there"

Charlie scowled at Gabriel, or at least he tried to. He still looked a lot like his human self. But, with an orange Cambridge T-shirt, he just could not make a good effect.

"If you stop playing cats and dogs, they're waiting for us" Jake intervened, leading them to an uphill path.

Michel had to run to keep up. Whoever had put Jake in that body, had turned the tables: at school, Jake and Tommy were always behind him, so he had to slow down.

Jake just seemed amused by that, he could see him smirking.

"Are they all scientists? The four of them?" Jake asked him

"All scientists" confirmed Michel "Someone suggested to grow avatars for me and Alan, too, but Selfridge discarded the proposal as soon as it was made. I thought it was because of you"

"Not just me" replied Jake "I'm just the third "conscience objector". The first is dead. As far as I know, they tried to clone him but they discarded the project. The second… I've met him once, but I don't know a lot about him. And I just think Selfridge did not want four and five. Soldiers always have been accepted more quickly"

"Why?"

"Because we're… empty cans. We always can learn something. Not like scientists. Or so they thought. Scientists can be taught, you just have to teach them a different subject"

"For example?"

"Parenthood" intervened David with a surrendering grin

"But, as far as I know, there's another way to fill a full can" murmured Jake

"Really? And what's it?" Michel asked "Maybe it could be of some use with Charlie over there"

"Okay, I'll show you"

Jake slowed down, letting Michel step forward. Then he raised his foot and…

_Splat._ Michel found himself on the ground.

"Kick the can's ass" said Jake laughing as Michel stood up again. _Always the same Jake!_ It was one of his favorite tricks. Just, he had never sent him… or anyone… to the ground.

"You'll pay for this, Jake Sully!" Michel shouted standing up

"Oh yeah?" Jake asked, grinning as he was used to do in his junior high years

"Yeah, this is a promise!"

They started both laughing. Even with tables turned, everything seemed the same.

_Oh, stop thinking at that, Michel. It's just a matter of months. Just a matter of months._

A flash of light made him turn. Cap Boy had taken out a camera and was taking photographs.

"What's that thing, Austin?" Tom asked him

"It's a camera. It draws pictures in a split second" the boy called Austin explained "I want to show what's happening to my parents"

"How does it work?"

"Well, I don't know exactly. You just turn it on, you look in the screen and when you like the picture you press a button and the camera draws a picture. Then you put the pictures on a computer and you can print them but that's another kettle of fish…"

"Fish? What has fish got to do with your camera?"

"Nothing, it's just an idiom"

"Can I try it?"

"Okay, but don't drop it and don't wet it. If I break it, my father will hit the roof!" said Austin passing him the camera

Tom clumsily got it in his hands and tried to take a picture. He took one, then he gave back the camera to Austin.

"This stuff is crazy" he commented

"Okay, we're here" said Jake as they reached a waterfall "This is the rookery"

Four teenage Na'vi, two boys and two girls, were waiting, obviously for them. One of the four, apart from the long braid all the Na'vi had, and some tiny braids on the sides, had short hair, and probably did not like to keep them in place, and bore old scars on his arms and legs, and most of them seemed to be old burns. He was the very same boy who had led a team of human kids in the forest.

"Are you all right, Peter?" David asked him

"I am, Sempu. I am ready"

David smiled. His eyes were wet.

"Just tame it and fly, Peter. I know you can. You will fly"

He hugged his stepson and patted him on the back. He was surely fighting to hold back tears.

Peter went forward, right into the rookery. Gabriel was hopping up and down, more nervous than his stepbrother.

* * *

_(Peter's POV)_

He unfolded the ikran catcher, and stepped carefully forward. There was something wet on his shoulder… what was it? Had Sempu cried?

He shook his head and stepped forward again. Ikrans were running away, all but one, a dark green one who just looked like, in colors, an image from one of Sempu's books. A _coco…_ no, _crocodile_. Its claws were not particularly big, but they were bent, and the sight just gave him the creeps.

He had to do it now. To be quick.

He leaped forward and wrapped the head of the creature with the sticky leaf, covering its eyes.

He still remembered when old Rafe'ekan, Uncle Rafe'ekan for him, had taught him how to. Sempu just did not know how to do it… he had needed a lot of help with him.

Now, the hardest part. Jump on the ikran and make tsaheylu with it. The beast was blinded by the leaf, but was fighting for dear life.

He had fought for dear life, too, when ground had started shaking under his feet, when the bangs were piercing his ears, the world was falling down, everything was on him… and the adult man next to him – his real father – had fallen down, and he had cried, and fainted, and cried again, and slept, and cried again… until an older boy had not got him and taken him out of the dark hole he was trapped in.

In that day, he had become Peter.

He had chosen a father, lived a happy life, except for some tantrums when his brother and sister were born. He just had not understood, not then, why couldn't he see them, play with them, as his friends did with their younger siblings. He did not understand even why did the other kids' mothers did not stay always with the younger kids when his stepmother always was with Gabriel and Helena and he had never seen her.

And... when Gabriel had ran, he had done his best to be a proper elder brother for him, taking him home, being a good boy, an example. He had let Norm pull some blood from his veins, even if he had never understood why.

And now Gabriel was there, supporting him with his friends.

He had to be strong, to be brave. For him.

Jump. Dodge. Jump again. Catch the ikran's queue. Connect.

The beast ceased fighting. He had won.

"Yeah! That's it Peter!" shouted Gabriel "Come on Peter, fly now!"

He grinned and raised a fist, as the ikran roared. It was acting as he did.

Sempu was rubbing his face. Whatever was there, Peter could just guess his eyes were itching. Or he was crying again.

"Fly, Peter! Fly!" Gabriel shouted, jumping up and down

_Are we ready, boy?_ Yeah, his ikran surely was a male._ Come on, let's show Gabriel what we can do... let's fly!_

_(Jake's POV)_

As the last hunter had tamed his banshee, Jake did not take off with the other riders. George had taken his helicopter and was following the riders, so he was alone with Michel and the team.

"So, who wants to introduce everyone?" he asked "Don't mind Michel, I've already had to bear him for fourteen years"

A boy who seemed in his early twenties, surely Alan, chuckled.

"Good. Nice to meet you, Jake" said the one who seemed the oldest "My name is Diego Seneca. These are Florence Kay, Beatrice Martin, Charles Martin and… Alan Doyle"

"Last, but not the least" commented Alan

The girl next to Diego, Florence, just seemed… strange. Familiar. Her face just reminded him someone. She seemed so… human. Like someone else he had met at the end of his "dark years". Jake had surely seen her somewhere, but he did not recall her at all. And anyway, she seemed in her late twenties, so if he had met her twelve years before that moment, she surely had been just a little girl.

"Do we know each other?" he asked her

"I knew your brother" Florence answered "He was in my father's scholarship program"

"And yet, this is the first time you meet _me_. Isn't it?"

"Yeah" Florence said in an annoyed tone

"So, how is it possible that, if this is the first time you're talking to me, you just remind me someone?"

"Nice question, Jake. Really nice question" commented Michel "This mystery is going to get the whole satellite stuck on it"

"Oh, just shut up" said Florence "It's my own business, and I don't need jarheads or former jarheads playing detectives"

"I'm a botanist!" Charlie intervened

"That's different, Charlie. You are my friend"

"Okay. If I'm your friend, why can't you tell me what's the matter?"

Silence.

"I heard you talking to David last week. When he mentioned your mother you just started menacing him… is it something about your mother? Come on Florence, what has your mother done to you? It can't be so bad!"

Florence stayed quiet and looked at her knuckles, then she lowered her hand and looked first at Charlie, then at Jake.

"My mother died here, on Pandora, when I was sixteen" she explained "And, since I was twelve, I never wanted to talk about her. I didn't like staying in her shadow. I _don't_ like staying in her shadow. I want to be known with my own name, not as Grace Augustine's daughter!"

Charlie's jaw dropped. He tried to say something, but he just stuttered. Jake could recognize in his unarticulated speech the words "damn", "Grace", and "legend".

"Here we are again" said Florence putting a hand on her forehead, in a gesture Jake recognized as Grace's.

"Sorry" Charlie said, with a shy smile. His behavior towards Florence had slightly changed "I'm still a friend of yours, anyway. Just don't forget my father was Fred Martin!"

"_Fred Martin_?" Jake asked "The neurologist? That one who…"

"Yeah. _The_ Fred Martin" Beatrice interrupted him "But he's dead. Car crash"

"It was not just a car crash" Alan intervened "The brakes were subvert…"

Michel poked him. Not in time for Beatrice to ask questions.

"How do you know it, Doyle?"

"Newspaper, it was on a newspaper!" Alan quickly said

"I don't believe you" Charlie said, clutching Alan's shirt and raising him up "What do you know, Doyle? Tell me!"

"_Charles Martin_!" shouted Beatrice "Put him down!"

"Just calm down, Charlie. We'll tell you everything" Michel said as Charlie put Alan down "We just need to find a proper place to talk, here it doesn't seem safe at all"

"Follow me" Jake said "I've got an idea of where to go"

He led them down to a narrow path, stopping constantly to make sure no one was left behind, until they arrived to an old mobile unit which was missing a piece.

"Welcome to Site 26" he said the new team "Or, at least, what's left of it"

He had not been in that place in years. But he just remembered those narrow hallways, the video logs, Grace insisting for him to eat "properly" (was that properly? That tasteless micro waved food had turned him sick!). There still were the computers, inside. Who knew if they worked? Well, the solar panels surely had kept on generating power, so...

By the way, it always had been a safe place, even outside, so they could always sit in the grass and talk.

"So, Alan, what do you know about my parents, and overall, how do you know it?" Beatrice asked

"Don't ask me. Michel's the man" replied Alan shaking his head

Michel sat down and waited for everyone else to do the same, then started speaking.

"There is a thing you all need to know – Jake and Alan know it – I'm not a Marine. Not anymore"

"_What_?" Charlie asked "But… you… your clothes…"

"Didn't your mama teach you the cowl doesn't make the monk?" Alan replied "I've never been a soldier, neither. Michel and I are policemen. We've been sent here by the FBI to investigate on some murders"

Jake already knew the story, so he just sat on the ground, looking at the grass. Yeah, Michel had surely grown a brain for himself, if now he was an FBI agent. Well, he had already started screwing his head on during the war, if he had understood how useless it was.

"And that's all" Michel finished explaining. Charlie was clutching his fists so hard his knuckles were getting… well, not exactly white but something like that.

"But… why?" Beatrice asked "I could understand… placing a soldier in a scientist's place, but Charlie and I are both scientists… why would they have discarded our parents if they surely were better than us?"

"It's one of the things we're trying to explain" Alan intervened "I mean, maybe RDA wanted someone weak, like a… young person. Or maybe, your parents had just a… let's call it bond… with someone who already was on Pandora, a bond you don't know about"

"You could make the thing easier for us if you told us your mother's maid name, as there was no "Martin" in the list of the scientists who are still here" Michel added

"If we just knew it" moaned Charlie "She just did not want us to know it… just like if she was ashamed of her family. We just knew her brother's name, Davey. But David's a common name, it's also _my_ brother's middle name. She surely loved him a lot… I also have a photo of her with my uncle"

He took out a sheet of a pocket. A blonde teenage girl, maybe eighteen, and a ginger-haired kid, wearing a pair of glasses, were smiling to the camera. The boy was holding what seemed a diploma, and seemed overjoyed. The photo was slightly blurred, so the name on the document was illegible.

"But that…" murmured Florence taking the photo from Charlie's hands "I recognize those diplomas! They were printed as my father did a scholarship test in lower secondary schools! Charlie, that David we met… he got one of those diplomas when he was admitted in my father's scholarship program"

"_David_?" Beatrice asked her

"Yeah. David Locke. Better known as Kenobi, at Stanford. Charlie and I met him a week ago"

"Can they be the same person?" asked Alan "What does this David Locke look like? Really, I mean. His human face"

"Now?" Florence asked "Honestly, I don't know. The last time I met him in his human form was nineteen years ago, if not even more…"

"And how did you recognize him?"

"His voice. And, by the way, I did not recognize him immediately"

"So, let's just _suppose_ your mother's maid name was Natasha Locke" said Michel "If we make a search on the net, the name will surely come out… Jake, the nearest computer?"

Then he shook his head, seeming to tell to himself: "What a stupid I am". Alan chuckled.

"I think there is still one in there" Jake said, pointing to Site 26 "But I'm not sure whether it works perfectly or not"

"Even if it isn't perfectly working" replied Michel "I can send an email to Joseph and ask him to do the search for us"

"Well, that must be checked out. I mean, maybe the computers just don't work at all. In this case, have you got someone who can do the job, at your base?"

"Well, we did not take the radios" Alan said getting into the shack "We just jumped on the helicopter as soon as we saw yours taking off. And anyway… Selfridge just did not put it too good about getting new friendships"

There was a pause of silence.

"Where the fuck is the chair?" he shouted then

"He must have found my computer" Jake commented as Michel got in, too. He then ducked and tried his best to get into the door. He wanted to help, and, by the way, the computer needed a password to work.

"How do you turn this on?" Alan asked, taking a cardboard box out of a corner and sitting on it "Oh… there's the button"

"Get away, Al, if I have to talk to my son I need to sit down" said Michel pushing him slightly

"Okay, okay, you're the chief" said Alan pushing a button on the computer and standing up.

After some time, the screen went blank and two words appeared.

_Enter Password_.

"Let me do this" Jake said to Michel

"No way, Jake" Michel replied as Jake tried to type the password. It was just a mess… the keys were far too small for his fingers!

_Access Denied._

"Come on, Jake. Just tell me it. I'll type" said Michel

No. No, and then no again. He was not going to admit the password were their… his, Tommy's and Michel's childhood nicknames. It was just so… so ridiculous!

"Okay, I'll try to guess" resolved Michel pushing his hand aside

"No, we'll only lose time" replied Jake "I'll tell you the password. It's _Jolt-Thunder-Goofy_"

"Goofy? Who's _Goofy_?" Alan asked, chuckling

"Shut it up, Alan!" Jake and Michel shouted together as the computer finished loading

Charlie and Florence, meanwhile, were making their way through the shack. They put away the chair in front of Grace's computer and sat on the ground.

"Hey, you just found your mother's computer" Jake commented

"Of course it's hers" said Florence picking up two pencils from the desk "There's a photo of my father and me on the desk… my mother has always been collecting photos"

"Yeah, but what about the password?" Charlie asked

Florence got a pencil in the left hand and another one in the right hand and started beating on the keys with the pencils.

"Whoa, it just seems our geneticist just got a better idea" commented Alan, as Grace's computer started loading

"You guessed the password!" Charlie said, amazed

"My mother was terribly predictable" explained Florence "The password was my full name. _Florence Hope Kay_"

"Whoa, look!" Charlie said, snatching another pencil with his left hand and the mouse with his right "Damn right-handed mouse!" he swore, then

"Are you left-handed?" Florence asked

"Yes I definitely am!" Charlie said "And I'm also one of the few who keep the mouse on the left!"

"Gabriel is left-handed" commented Jake nearly without noticing it

"David's son" added Michel, just like to confirm their hypothesis "Damn it… there is no net explorer program on these computers!"

"I said you" replied Jake "Why would we need that? Look for the instant messaging, I put it as soon as I came here"

Michel got the mouse and clicked on the messenger icon. He quickly typed his email address and clicked _Connect_.

"It still works!" Alan said, surprised

There was a list of contacts in the window, Jake recognized some as old classmates, members of the soccer team and Marines. There were also some he didn't recognize, at least not for the pictures. Two in particular, _SoftballGirl55_ and _Eldest-J.K._, were linked to pictures of young kids.

Michel clicked on the girl's account, the only one on, and then on the webcam icon. Jake quickly adjusted the webcam as a young girl appeared on the screen.

"Daddy! Where are you?" asked the girl

"Hi there, Elizabeth" Michel replied "Did you miss me?"

"_Of course_" Elizabeth replied "You haven't been calling since that someone threw a ball on your window!"

Jake was out of the camera range, luckily. He did not want the little girl to scream.

"But where are you? And why you're wearing an exopack?" Elizabeth asked again

"I'm in an old base. I'm using a friend of mine's computer" Michel explained "He doesn't use it anymore, so… here I am"

"Joseph was worried. He said he was afraid you ran into some wild animal" said Elizabeth "You're all right, aren't you, Daddy?"

"Never been better. Where's Joe?"

"Training with the soccer team. He's been chosen as a goalkeeper"

Jake and Michel laughed. Like father, like son!

"Who's there with you?" Elizabeth asked, noticing the new voice

Michel stayed silent, but kept on chuckling

"Ahem – hello?" Elizabeth asked again, this time to Jake "Are you my father's friend?"

"Saying I'm just _a friend_ of his would be quite reductive, I think" Jake answered

"Okay, I surrender" Michel said, reaching out for the webcam "Elizabeth, can I introduce you Jake Sully?"

"The stunt kid? Jolt?" Elizabeth asked, surprised

"The very same person. More or less" resolved Michel turning the webcam so Elizabeth could see them both

Elizabeth stayed silent for what seemed a minute, then she looked at Jake and smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Jake"

"Hello, Elizabeth. Nice to meet you, too. I've got a son of your age, you know?"

Elizabeth just blushed and stuttered something about she would have liked to meet him.

"I'm afraid he's on George's helicopter with his friends" said Jake raising his shoulders "You'll have to wait. His best friend's brother tamed a banshee just today"

"By the way" Michel started "Elizabeth, I need you to do a thing. Open up the explorer program and search for a woman called Natasha Locke. Can you do this, right?"

* * *

_*** I really don't think there is a word for "Spanish" in Na'vi.**_

_**** If I made too many mistakes to understand, I just imagined that, some days before his first day of school, Jake fell down riding a bicycle. I mean, that's a common accident among six years old children, and Jake just seems to me like someone who did those things as a kid.

* * *

**_

_**It's not really a coincidence that so many relatives and friends of the Avatar Team members are on Pandora.**_

_**Want to know what's going on? Want me to make some drawings of my characters?**_

_**Well, just hit that pretty button in the bottom and make me know it! Do it quickly: there will be Neytiri's POV in next chapter!

* * *

**_

_**Just a while ago, while I was looking for some information, I found out that there really is an "Alan Doyle", and he's an actor who played in Robin Hood… I did not know it at all, I just wanted the guy's name to imitate Arthur Conan Doyle's and Edgar Allan Poe's because he's a policeman and so… well, it's really a small world!

* * *

**_

_**From next chapter: "Grace's legacy"**_

"_**I come from a world you just don't know"**_

"_**Where? The old buildings down there? You were born here, Gabriel, in Eywa's light, just don't forget it. If you really belong to another place, why did you run from the old colony last year?"**_

"_**Point taken"**_

"_**So go there and tell your story. Any story. Stories may be different, but in the end they're all the same. They're about examples to follow, heroes to remember… stories are just… stories. They'll understand you, and if they don't, explain yourself. And don't be afraid of being judged by Rafe'ekan. He knows you'll take his place when he'll go to Eywa. He just knows you're the one."**_


	13. Grace's legacy

_**Uhmm… where is everyone gone?**_

_**By the way, I'm taking this chance to say "irayo" to everyone who put the story in the favorites: so, irayo to Avataraddicted, vanSnyder, Life4DemiMeg, and… if someone else did it and I did not mention him or her, I'm sorry, but my e-mail box is a mess, and I probably removed the notify emails.**_

_**I still haven't found the time to put my drawings in the computer, but anyway… well I have to study, eat, sleep, do karate and… well, act, not anymore, the summer break of the drama team I'm in has just begun. I guess the adventure of Before the Sun Sets is over… unless someone doesn't ask us to perform again…**_

_**So, as I promised… Neytiri's POV! (it was reeeally hard, but I did it!)

* * *

**_

Chapter 12

Grace's legacy

_(Neytiri's POV)_

"**Mummy who those?**" Michael asked pointing to a group of six who were entering the clearing with Jake. They were the two warriors and four dreamwalkers who were on Iknimaya that morning.

"**We'll see now**" Neytiri answered to her youngest son, as he gestured to be picked up "**No, not now. You aren't a baby anymore, I can't hold you all the time**"

Michael was growing up, there was no way to deny it. Like his brother Thomas, he had five fingers, hair over his eyes and five toes, but his eyes were bigger and he spoke… two languages and no one, as Jake said. He just could pass from a language to another without noticing, and he often fell silent in the middle of a sentence, looking for the right word. But, most of the time, he spoke in the language he was hearing.

Thomas had been different: as he had grown up in a period in which the dreamwalkers were still organizing themselves, he had had the time to learn to speak the two different languages and tell them apart: at Michael's age, he spoke English just with his father, Norm and the other dreamwalkers, and knew exactly which language should he have spoken with anyone.

If Eywa was ever going to bless Jake and her with another child, she would have made sure this one was not going to mistake languages, even if she would have been obliged to prevent anyone to speak two languages in the same speech.

"Hello there little champ!" said Jake picking Michael up and making him "fly".

And he even asked himself why was Michael so spoiled! _Skxawng_!

The four dreamwalkers were stepping forward, one of them, a rather young woman who just reminded someone else, slowly came forward without the other three and greeted her in a formal way, introducing herself as "Florence".

Then she turned at the one who seemed to be the oldest.

"Diego, please, this is just crazy! You should speak!"

"Florence. This is your match" said the man called Diego

"You would not have said "this is my match" if I just had not told Charlie…"

"Okay, okay Florence, please calm down" the other male dreamwalker, a young man dressed in orange, stepped forward "I know you want to earn your own respect, but this is necessary. You tell them, and it's going to be the last time you'll need to"

"Tell them what?" peeped Michael, making everyone laugh

Florence smirked.

"Okay, Charlie. I'll tell the kid" she said, getting close to Michael and murmuring something to him

Michael just grimaced, like when he had to eat something he didn't like, then looked around, probably baffled.

"She said her mothew is called Gwace" he stuttered

The ones who were closer to Michael and understood English, apart from Jake, stared at Florence. Yes, it was true. She somewhat looked like Toktor Grace Augustine.

"**Who's Gwace?**" Michael asked looking around, making even the people who did not speak English understand what was happening. He just was one of the few who had not understood anything.

Florence looked around, confused and scared. She surely did not want everyone to know about her family, not that way.

"Reason, Florence" the man called Charlie said getting closer to her "You have to take your place now, as your mother's daughter. I know… that sometimes parents can be just a pain in the neck. I know you have to live in their shadow, hoping one day to do something to make them proud. And I also know what can your heart feel when, one day, you hear they'll never come back home. Now… you're here, where your mother has been once. I have no doubt she would be proud of you. Very, really proud"

As Charlie stopped speaking, someone started murmuring. Someone else replied, especially the youngest hunters. Charlie looked around, then made Florence do the same, and grinned.

One of the hunters, Sel'cral, stepped forward.

"**I see you, Florence, daughter of Grace. Your mother was my teacher**"

Another one, Ha'sila, did the same, followed by three or four more. They seemed to have already decided.

"**So, are we going to let her stay?**" Jake asked, grinning

The young adults shouted and nodded, someone even tried to clap as Sky People did.

"**If I am going to stay Charlie is too!**" replied Florence "Tell them it, Charlie! Come on!"

She seemed nearly joking, but she clearly wanted to get even with her friend.

"Okay" said Charlie stepping forward "I am… I seem to be… David Locke's nephew. As my sister Beatrice is his niece. My mother's name is Natasha, my father's name, Frederick. That's all"

* * *

_(Peter's POV)_

"**But… Peter, are you sure you want to do it? I mean… this is your family, now. You'd run a big risk, going out there before your dream hunt…**" Ha'sila was saying. She really seemed worried.

But Peter had no choice, he just felt it in his heart. He somehow knew there was still someone, out there, crying for a lost child.

"**Maybe my mother… my real mother… is still alive. I want to find her. Tell her I'm fine**"

"**Maybe she won't recognize you, even if you find her. You're not a child anymore, Peter. You're a man, a hunter. One of us. Please… don't go**"

"**Someday, I'll have to do it, Ha'sila, I just can't forget it!**"

Ha'sila looked just like if she was going to tell something, but she just stayed quiet and walked away.

As she had got quite far, she turned and spoke, in English this time.

"When Grace still taught at the school, she told us Peter Pan's story" she said "When Peter tried to come back to his mother, he found the window shut. There was no more place for him, after so much time he was away. I'm telling you these things to save you from the pain"

"**And you even said you saw me!**" he shouted to Ha'sila

"**What's your problem, Peter? You've got a family here. You have a brother and a sister. Now… now the Sky People are coming back, why should you leave?**"

"**I don't know. But… somehow… deep in my heart I know I will never be a man if I won't know who I am**"

"**I do know who you are**" Ha'sila said "**A **_**moron**_"

Peter just went away. He just wanted her to stop.

He found Sempu arguing with one of the four new dreamwalkers, Charlie, he thought he was called. He quickly arrived between them and snarled at Charlie.

"Hey!" Charlie replied "Easy, kid!"

"Get away from him!" he shouted. He did not care Charlie was taller and seemed stronger. He did not care he was a fully-grown man, while he was younger.

"Are you menacing me? Huh-huh, I'm terrified"

"I said get away!"

Sempu just seemed to be feeling bad, really bad. Had that Charlie man done something? Was something wrong?

"It's all your fault!" Peter shouted at Charlie "You have no right to ask to stay here! You have harmed my father, haven't you?"

Charlie stopped acting as he had not done anything and stepped back.

"Your… _father_?"

He stayed silent for a moment.

"Oh, _no_" he moaned "God, please, anything but _this_…"

Peter turned to Sempu to ask questions, but he was gone.

"What's the matter, Charlie? Tell me it now!" he said, clutching Charlie's clothes and trying to shake him. He was weaker than he seemed. _Tsk. Sky People._

"Stop it… stop it. I'll tell you" Charlie said "My mother was your father's sister"

"What?"

"**My mother was your father's sister!**" Charlie shouted "And she died three years ago. He did not know it"

"So… my father is your uncle" murmured Peter

"At last! You know, I thought you just had mud in your ears"

"One more word, and I'll…"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry… your brother Gabriel has already said enough to me to convince me that I have to behave here. Why isn't he with you, by the way? I've got a brother one year older than him, and when we lived together he just kept staying close to me just like if he was stuck…"

Yeah, that was a good definition for Gabriel, too. Peter could not help thinking at his little brother in the same way Charlie did.

"He's with his friends" Peter commented "I also heard from a friend of mine that the old storyteller, Rafe'ekan, is going to let him tell a story tonight. We can go and listen to him if you want to. As you're going to stay here… you'd better come with me and _listen_"

* * *

_(Gabriel's POV)_

Even with those two talking, Gabriel did not pay attention. Rafe'ekan had told him he was going to tell a story, and he just felt slightly nervous. What kind of story could he tell? He only knew stories about Jedi Masters, hobbits, lost boys and lions… surely not something the Na'vi could understand easily as he did!

"Michael said me he just can't wait for your story" Tom said him, nearly guessing his thoughts "Have you already decided which one will you tell?"

"Honestly?" Gabriel replied "No, and I don't have a damn idea of which story I'm going to tell. I'm just afraid of being… well, misunderstood. I come from a world you just don't know"

"Where? The old buildings down there? You were born here, Gabriel, in Eywa's light, just don't forget it. If you really belong to another place, why did you run from the old colony last year?"

"Point taken"

"So go there and tell your story. Any story. Stories may be different, but in the end they're all the same. They're about examples to follow, heroes to remember… stories are just… stories. They'll understand you, and if they don't, explain yourself. And don't be afraid of being judged by Rafe'ekan. He knows you'll take his place when he'll go to Eywa. He just knows you're the one. He knows it since I said him you ran, I don't know how but he does"

"Maybe his son told him"

"Maybe. And… shit! I forgot to tell you… it was really my uncle, the one who spoke in the Trees of Silence!"

"Trees of Silence?"

"Yeah. That's how we call them. Never told you it. Sorry"

"You can't call them Trees of Silence anymore!"

"_Point taken_!"

"Anyway, why did you turn into a philosopher when you talked about stories? Who said you that?"

"My grandmother"

"Oh. Okay"

"Have you heard what are Florence and Charlie saying?"

"Well… yeah. Kind of. Now, Florence's somehow related with Grace Augustine, the former teacher, and Charlie said his parents are called Natasha and Frederick. Never heard those names. And, as it seems, they're going to stay here"

"Oh, _great_"

"What's wrong?"

"Charlie is an asshole. That's what's wrong"

"The asshole is your cousin, kid" Charlie said, getting closer. Peter was a few steps behind him and was rolling his eyes.

Cousin? No, he just could not be.

"No way" Gabriel replied "My cousins are called Alfred, Edmund, Daniel and Marianne, and they're all in Ireland"

"Huh really?" Charlie asked, sitting down "Listen now. In my _real_ body, I'm fair-haired, I use contacts and I'm left-handed"

"What are contacts?" Gabriel replied with the first sentence he had in his mind

"Specs! Savvy?" Charlie shouted

"That might be a coincidence" Tom replied, siding with Gabriel "Luke's got five fingers, but that doesn't mean we're related. You need to give us proofs. Real proofs"

"Want a proof?" Charlie asked "Gabriel, even your father and your brother have accepted the truth. I'm not kidding, I really am your cousin. I showed your father a photo of my mother and him as kids. He recognized himself… and he did not take it well, too. He did not know she died three years ago"

Charlie really seemed serious. He was looking at the ground, seeming afraid of looking Gabriel in his eyes.

The moment of silence was broken by Rafe'ekan, who pushed Charlie aside and told Gabriel and Tom to stand up and reach the canopy under which Rafe'ekan usually told his stories.

"What's going on?" Charlie asked

"Story time" answered Tom "Want to hear? Tonight Gabriel's telling one"

Tom, Peter and Charlie took place in the circle that was being formed, and Florence joined them, quickly followed by Michael, who did not lose the chance to pull his brother's tail before sitting down.

Gabriel stood in the center of the circle, like he had seen Rafe'ekan doing. Now, he just needed a story they could understand. A story with a warrior, simple weapons, and maybe even a forest. What could that be…?

_Idea!_

He cleared his throat and started speaking.

"**A long, long time ago, when the Sky People still fought with bows and arrows, and Gaia was still alive and well, a clan was born in an island called** England. **Those humans invented English and colonized the island: there was a leader and there were good and bad people. Now, some people tell there were dark times in England, times in which an unworthy leader made the poor people suffer. They also say in those times a man… a warrior… left his living place to find a home in the woods. He formed a colony in Sherwood Forest**"

"**A forest?** On Earth?" Tom asked

"Does it still exist?" Michael added

"It exists… and it doesn't" Charlie said "I went there once, there are still some trees. They are kept there by the people of Nottingham. They could never afford to lose their symbol"

"**That man was called…**" Gabriel continued

"Robin Hood" intervened Charlie

"Yeah, you may be my cousin but that's my job, Charlie!" said Gabriel stepping closer to his cousin

"Okay, Gabriel, you're the man"

"**That man was called Robin Hood. Many stories, many songs have been sung about him… he was a brave man, an excellent fighter, an archer… you know, in those times the Sky People were not so different from the People. But there was a main difference. Few people could get whatever they wanted, and most of them just found hard eating a proper meal every day**"

"Who was the moron who decided to leave the situation that way?" Tom commented

"It's still this way" replied Charlie

"**Robin started waiting for the men with too much stuff in the paths of the forest. As he saw them, he and his… merry men… took all the stuff from them, and somehow managed to give food and clothes to all the people who could not eat and dress properly. There were many times in which the unworthy leader's men tried to find Robin and kill him, but Robin knew the forest too well for them to find him. It kept on this way until the previous leader, a most distinguished man called Richard, came back to England from a war, and took back his place. Richard tried his best to even the odds, so there was no more need to hide in the forest and steal. But…when Richard died, some people say Robin came back into the forest. He has become a legend, and no one can say where, when and how he died, because someone took his name and kept acting in his place. Many and many papers report Robin Hood's action, in different places, different times… and in a homestead near the Sherwood Forest, someone has represented him in a block of stone. Robin is surely dead, long before my father was born. Long before Gaia died. But… his name will never die. Maybe, one day, someone will step in his shoes. And I really hope this day is close, because that would mean there's still hope for the Sky People to See**"

The kids around him, all of them, the Na'vi, the humans, Austin and Adrian, and even Florence and Charlie, made gestures of approval. Michael just poked his brother on the shoulder, asking him to explain something he had not understood.

Rafe'ekan came forward, smiled to him, and said just two words. Two words that could not have been better, for Gabriel.

"**Well done**" he said, putting his hands on Gabriel's shoulders

"**But is that story true?**" asked Ateyo standing up

"**Almost**" Gabriel answered

"**But did Sky People really fight with bows and arrows once? And did they really live in forests?**"

"**Yes they did**"

"**And why are they… like… that, now?**"

"**How can I know it? I'm a child!**"

"Gabriel! Where were you?"

A human girl, ginger hair and freckles, was pushing aside her Na'vi "colleagues", stopping to apologize to Austin.

"Huh? That must be your twin, isn't she, Robin Hood?" Charlie asked Gabriel

"What's wrong, Helena?" said Peter ducking to face her

"Da is gone!"

"Da is… what do you mean?" Gabriel asked

"One moment and he was talking to that man over there" and she pointed at Charlie "And then he goes away, without telling anything to anyone and I don't know where he is now!"

"Go to the Colony, sis, I'll be waiting there!" said Gabriel running to his hut and jumping into the hammock.

He was slightly tired, so it was not such an effort, falling asleep, and he quickly found himself in the link bed. He pushed the lid away and ran into the "square", where he found Helena climbing through the trapdoor.

"Why aren't you driving your avatar?" she asked, worried "If Da is somewhere around, you'd bet…"

"I know a better way to find him. His avatar may be around, but _he_ is in the link bed. I'll pull him out and tell him he's making us worry!"

"But he said we must not!"

"This is an emergency, Hel. Aunt Natasha is dead"

"_Aunt Natasha_? Da's sister?"

"Yeah, and much worse, Charlie is her son"

"_Car_…"

"Helena? Easy, sis. _Bajá un cambio _*. If Da hears you, we're both dead"

They entered Da's shack. His link bed was open and empty, while Serge's and Annemarie's were still on. As usual.

"Da?" he shouted in the room

"Daddy?" Helena echoed

No answer. The room was dark, but Gabriel could see anyway a shadow on the floor. Da was there, sitting on the floor. Crying.

"Da, what's going on?" Helena asked getting close as Gabriel turned the lights on

He did not answer, he just kept on crying. Maybe he just wanted to. He just wanted to let off steam.

Helena knelt and hugged him, while Da stayed still. Gabriel had never seen Da crying, not even after what had happened when he had been eight.

"Don't worry, we're here" Gabriel said sitting on the ground "Both of us"

He hugged Da, too.

Then Da moved. He hugged both of them, and stopped crying and shaking.

They stayed still, together, in the tiny room. As a family.

* * *

_-__ From Diego Seneca's video log –_

… _The kids seem so… normal. Yet so different. I've seen one of them using a camera just like he hasn't done anything else in his life, but the same boy just went crazy when his friend's stepbrother tamed a banshee. Some of them are avatar drivers, even if they don't seem to have a lot of experience at that. As far as I've counted, there are more than thirty human children, of which three are avatar drivers._

_Then, there are crossbreeds. Half avatars and half Na'vi. Or, at least, that's the word Florence said. I counted four of them, three boys and a girl. The oldest one, Thomas, seems to be ten, or older. You can tell who's who if you pay attention to some particulars: crossbreed children, comparing them to the three little avatars, have longer toes, bigger eyes, flatter nose, and almost invisible eyebrows. The girl, April, doesn't seem to have eyebrows at all._

_Comparing them with the photos of the humans left on Pandora, I've been able to identify their previously human parent: two of the boys, Thomas and Michael, are Jake Sully's sons, the girl, April, is Gerald Digby's daughter, even if there are hints that human Gerald is still alive, and the youngest one, Lucas, is Lewis Matthews's child. They seem in good health, and have developed no genetic anomalies, apart from what the Na'vi surely would call postaxial polydactyly**, as they all have five fingers for each hand. I think it must be dominant for the Na'vi as it is with humans. Florence says she needs to look closer at them, as they MIGHT, Thomas overall, develop some diseases anyway. Thomas is the one whose risk is highest because he's the closest one to adolescence. Florence said that all the boys might be sterile, but that has still to be proved._

_All the human kids know how to read and write, some of them seem to be good readers, too. And they like this place. I don't think they'll be convinced to leave so easily._

_Diego Seneca out.

* * *

_

_(Gabriel's POV)_

When Gabriel woke up again, he was on a mattress on the floor, and Helena was next to him. A blanket had been quickly laid on them, and Da was standing in a corner, typing something on a computer. Out there, the sunrays pierced through the forest.

"Good morning, Da" Gabriel yawned tossing the blanket away

"_Gabriel_!" Helena protested, sitting up and tossing the blanket on him

"You two just can't get along, can you?" Da asked, grinning "Sibling rivalry"

"Do you mean… we fell asleep together?" Helena asked, grimacing "Me… with the skunk? Urgh!"

"The skunk is your twin brother!"

"_Fraternal_ twin brother"

"That's obvious, as you are a girl" Gabriel intervened, standing up and getting out of the shack "Helena, see you later at school!"

"There's no school, today!" Helena replied, holding Gabriel's t-shirt

"What do you mean no school? It's Monday!"

Then, he remembered a thing.

"Oh, yeah…"

Norm had said he was going to do it even before Gabriel knew of his avatar driver's status. There was no school, today, because Norm was going to the Well of Souls. And, as the day was "peculiar", there would have been no supply teacher. Unless, maybe, that Florence girl did not want to take her mother's legacy.

"All right, so I'll ask Tom if we all go to the la… umpf!"

He had not seen Austin, who was trying to get in as he was getting out.

"Sorry" Austin said raising his shoulders "Anyway… Tom's looking for you. Well, I mean… nearly everyone's looking for you. You just ran away after your story"

"Yeah, family problems. I spent the night here"

"But is that true? Charlie being your cousin?"

"Yeah, unfortunately. I'd rather have a brother like Newt than a cousin like Charlie. He said we all are holy rollers"

"No!"

"Yeah. At least Newt thinks there's a Father in the sky"

They ran to their link shack, where they had to pull away Adrian's blankets to make him get up, and, one by one, they jumped in the link beds (Adrian did not even put his shirt on).

Gabriel quickly jumped off his hammock, just to find Peter's occupied by no one else but Charlie. But… what was Charlie doing there?

"Get off, you stupid, that's not yours!" he shouted at his cousin before remembering he could not hear him.

But… where was Peter now?

He looked around, then he went out. His classmates were near a root, looking amazed at Newton who was trying to improve his performance on stilts. Just to be honest, the ten-years-old human kid lost his balance quite often, but he did his best to walk farther and farther.

"Hey, Newt!" Gabriel shouted getting close "Have you seen Peter?"

"You mean your brother?" Newton asked stopping, but keeping on stomping his feet "I think he went up there"

He pointed at the tree top. Then he lost balance. Then Gabriel seized his oversized camouflage shirt and kept holding it until Newton was not in balance again.

"Thank you" Newt said, restarting his walk

"You're welcome. I know how does it feel, biting the dust"

Gabriel started running "upstairs", looking left and right, everything to find his brother.

Unexpectedly, he felt a gap under his right foot and ended up stuck between two branches. _Crap_.

"Hey, you?" someone not so far from him asked. Florence Kay was getting close "Need a help?"

"Who, me?" Gabriel replied, trying to haul himself out of that natural trap "No thanks, if I do need help I ask my family"

"Okay, I'll call Charlie"

"Except for him"

"Why were you running so fast? I mean, it would be so easy tripping like you did…"

"It's my own business"

He managed to get out of the gap between the branches and sat on one of them

"Is it something about your family?"

"Maybe"

He stood up and restarted going upstairs. Florence followed him.

"Were you looking for a teenager with scars a bit everywhere?" she asked him

"Yeah, he's my _brother_" Gabriel replied scowling at her

"Didn't your mother tell you you should not look at people that way?"

"Well, my parents are… how do you say it, on Earth? Oh, yeah, _divorced_"

Florence stayed silent.

"I think you know who was my mother" she said

"No I don't. And I don't want to know. You and Charlie just have come here thinking you can do in a day what my family has done in years!"

"Gabriel…"

"Yeah, that's my name!"

"We don't want to take anyone's place. Really. We just want everything to come out for the best"

"Really? So why did Charlie tell me we…" and he pointed the tree around them " …are holy rollers?"

"He's just a big-mouthed asshole. Just wait for him to wake up, and I'll teach him a lesson!"

Gabriel felt like laughing. Yeah, he liked the idea of Charlie being taught a "lesson". Maybe even with Jake's solution for full cans. He chuckled.

"Who did you say your mother was?" he asked. Florence really seemed nice, surely more than his cousin Charlie.

"Grace Augustine. I think you've heard about her"

"Just heard? She's almost as legend as Jake!" said Gabriel in a plain voice

"You don't seem so amazed, just to be honest" replied Florence getting close

"Remember one thing" Gabriel said restarting his walk upstairs "My father's David Locke. My best friend's father is Jake Sully. And Norm Spellman has been my teacher for a week. Why should I be amazed, when someone like me has shown up? You ain't better than anyone else here, Florence!"

To his surprise, Florence did not seem sad or sorry. She just seemed… well, satisfied with what he just had told her.

"When I was your age, I was the sideshow freak in my class" she commented "It's just strange, now, being among… well, people like me"

They had arrived on the tree top, the place in which the hunters kept their banshees. Peter was there, strapping some bags on his banshee's saddle.

"Where are you going?" Gabriel asked, stopping

"Well…"

He did not seem eager to explain. In fact, he just seemed to be going away silently without telling anything to anyone.

"If I were you, I'd tell your brother everything, you teenage Chewbacca. You can't keep a secret from your family…"

Peter's hands and tail started shaking. He looked at the ground.

"Peter…" Gabriel said in a pleading tone

"Okay, okay. I'm going to the Tipani settlements" Peter spat out "I want to see them… I just want to know if someone in my family… my real family… is still alive. Gabriel… **brother**… I just have to do this journey to find myself… that myself who had a different name and did not live among the Omaticaya"

"Well, he has a point" Florence said Gabriel

"But… you did not even tell Da" Gabriel replied to Peter "What is he going to think now? His sister died three years ago, and he has found it out only now"

"I know. Charlie told me"

"And you trust him?"

"There's something in him… I don't know, on the outside he seems a _skxawng_, but… he's just a desperate man who wants to get back what he had. He could just grow to be dangerous if someone doesn't help him. He's family, Gabriel"

He turned and strapped the last bag on the saddle. He really was determined to go.

"And, by the way… Sem- _Da_ knows. He knows it since he found me. It's Eywa's will. One day I'll come back, that's for sure. Until then… don't wait for me. Live your life. Grow up. Keep an eye on Charlie. Learn what's to be learned, and protect Helena. And, if you don't recognize me when I'll be back, I'll tell you. _Oel ngati kameie, ma tsmukan. Eywa ngahu_"

* * *

_*** If Wordreference said it right, it's an idiom used in Argentina. As the twins' mother is from Argentina, I thought Gabriel just had to use it.**_

_**** In simple words, too many fingers and/or toes. For a Na'vi, surely a baby born with five fingers for each hand would be polydactyl.

* * *

**_

_**From next chapter "Locke-ness":**_

"_**Don't try to make me walk the line"**_

"_**What are you saying?"**_

"_**Well… Norm always says your mother made my father walk the line… well I'm not like my father. Not through and through"**_

"_**And I'm not like my mother. Not through and through"**_


	14. Locke Ness

Chapter 13

Locke Ness

_(Tom's POV)_

Gabriel and Florence were standing on a branch in the rookery of the tree, looking at a spot which was quickly getting small. Until it faded.

"Gabriel! But where the hell were you gone?" Tom shouted

"Peter's gone away" Gabriel explained turning. He seemed on the edge of tears.

"He'll come back" Tom replied, in a plain tone "He just can't sever the bond he has with this place, this family and this clan. By the way, Austin and Adrian were quite worried. They did not see you coming, so they asked me to look for you"

"Oh, crap… Austin and Ani!"

"We're going to the lake. Are you coming?"

"Well- okay"

He did not seem so happy to do that, but probably he just needed to think at something else that was not his brother's departure.

"There is a lake around here?" Florence asked "When my mother talked me about these places, she never mentioned a lake"

"That's because the lake wasn't there twelve years ago" Tom replied grinning "The Sky People dug a huge hole in the ground. It was so big Eywa was powerless against such a destruction. Until David – that would be Gabriel's father – proposed to stop a river, and make it flow in a different direction… right in the hole. So now there's a lake"

"The first artificial lake of Pandora" commented Florence "Can I come with you? I'd like to see that"

"If you want to. Just… don't try to make me walk the line"

"What are you saying?"

"Well… Norm always says your mother made my father walk the line… well I'm not like my father. Not through and through"

"And I'm not like my mother. Not through and through"

Gabriel laughed, and Tom did it too. That really was fun.

"Let's go, now. Austin and Adrian are waiting" he said, making a gesture with his hand

"Wait!" Florence said, catching his wrist

"Hey, what's wrong?" Tom asked, trying to wiggle out of her hand

"Stay still a second. There's something wrong with your hand"

"Yeah, I've known it since my first day of school. Now please let go"

"I don't mean the fingers. I mean that _scar_"

Oh, that line. That line starting from the tip of his fourth finger and ending on the tip of his fifth. He had that scar since he had memory, and he was not the only one. He remembered Michael… and April… and Luke having similar lines on their fingers. He had never seen what exactly had made them grow signs like that, but Dad had nothing like that.

"I think that's something like a surgery scar" Florence commented "Tom, have you ever heard about webbed fingers?"

Web…? What did webs matter with fingers?

"No, definitely not"

"That's strange, as it seems you were born with this anomaly. It's just like if part of your DNA, the one which controlled muscles and bones, said there had to be five fingers, and another part, controlling the skin, said 'no, there must be four'. So there was a piece of skin between two fingers, and someone had to cut it away"

"_Outstanding_" he commented as Florence was opening her hand. Now he knew he was even more different from the kids of his age. He just felt a freak.

"Hey. Thomas? There is nothing bad in that. My fifth grade teacher just kept telling everyone is unique. There is no point in trying to look like the other ones… it's just a scar on your hand" Florence replied "I mean, doesn't Gabriel wear glasses?"

"Not here!" Gabriel replied grinning

"Yeah, but the stripes on your face just remind me your glasses!" Florence said, then she chuckled "Come on, kids, we said we have to go"

She started running downstairs. Gabriel got close to Tom and murmured "Shall we make her trip?", with a sly grin

"No, maybe we can drench her to the bone as soon as we're at the lake"

"Hey, you troublemakers? Have you got lost?" Florence shouted from some meters under them

"Of course not, this is our home!" Tom replied starting running down the branches

Once they were down, they found Gabriel's sister Helena, Austin, wearing his usual basketball outfit and cap, and Adrian, who, fortunately, was wearing only pants. Even Gabriel had thrown away his old clothes and replaced them with his brother's old ones, as, four days after his arrival to Hometree, his T-shirt and cargo pants had reduced themselves to muddy rags. Austin seemed to be more careful with his clothes, while Adrian's pants were torn on a knee.

They started walking the path leading to the lake, until they did not arrive in the Sky Clearing, where Florence just… stopped.

She restarted walking, very slowly, then she looked around, at the trees.

"Something happened here" she murmured

"Yeah, this piece of forest was burnt down to ashes during the war" Tom explained "Sky Clearing, that's how we call it. The younger trees in the middle signal the burial places of some of the Sky People who helped the People during the Great Sorrow. That big tree over there is the Tree of Gaia, the one under which are buried the humans, those three ones who stand together are the Trees of Silence… we call them so because the ones buried there are still alive… and then, over there, that's the Tree of the Teacher. There's only one person under it"

He then looked in Florence's eyes and nodded, hoping she would understand what he was saying.

He did not know how was losing a parent, but surely Florence had a wound that had not healed yet. He had told her those things because she had asked, but now he just felt a stupid.

Florence looked at the roots of the tree, then at Tom.

"Is she under here?" she asked

Tom nodded again

"My grandma tried everything she could to save her. There was nothing left to do… well I'm sorry, I really am. It was an year before I was born"

"You don't have to apologize" Florence replied, walking to the tree "You are not to be blamed, if you weren't here yet"

"Well, yeah, but my father was. He slowed down the escape from Hell's Gate, and that Quidditch colonel could use all the time to aim and shoot"

"That's _Quaritch_, Thomas, not Quidditch" Helena replied

"That's _Hermione_, Thomas, not Helena" Gabriel mimicked his twin*

Florence chuckled, murmuring "Sibling rivalry"

"Anyway Florence's right" Adrian said "Here we're not in the tale of the wolf and the lamb where the wolf blames the lamb for the lamb's father and…"

"Yeah, Ryan, we understood that" Austin said

"You can start going to the lake if you want to, I'm staying there for a while" Florence said

"No, we'll wait for you"

* * *

_(Alan's POV)_

He did not like that situation. No, he did not like it at all.

The Charlie egghead and his girlfriend being alone with the meerkats. He and Michel working along with the SecOps… no, it was no picnic.

They could always risk to be unmasked, maybe by Colonel Lynch himself. The man was a good sort but he was no stupid. He could always see how a man was acting, so Alan just stuck up to Michel, and constantly asked him for some advice.

That day really was an acid test, as they had to escort the very Selfridge on the old mining grounds, along with Colonel Lynch, a bunch of _real_ jarheads, and some other pig-headed businessman who all deserved to be sent down.

"I'm afraid you'll have some weeds to pull, kiddos" Selfridge was commenting.

The stupid thing. He was locked up in a SUV-looking vehicle with all his merry fellows, while jarheads and the two cops were walking on the ground, or sitting on it. Some were driving AMPs. Michel, as usual, preferred walking, while Alan sat in the rear, right near Lynch.

"Weeds? What does he mean?" Alan asked the Colonel

"In sixteen years, there may have grown some trees" Lynch explained "Well, I don't know how fast do plants grow here, you should ask your Charlie friend"

"If he just listened, sometimes, maybe I could" Alan murmured "Science geeks"

"You know, I once had a scientist friend" Michel said to Lynch. That was the story of that Tommy, but he was not telling it as he always told it. He was quite a good actor, playing the part of a perfect jarhead. Oh, well, he _had_ been a jarhead. _And_ an actor, according to what Charlie had said about that "Before the Sun Sets" school play.

"Oh yeah? And how did he end up?" another soldier asked

"He did not live to be twenty-three" Michel said in a plain voice

The soldier chuckled. Michel lowered his head and walked faster.

"Oi! Karloff!" Lynch shouted "Why don't you jump on?"

"No thanks" Michel replied, turning slightly "I prefer walking"

"These are the three words I hear from you almost always… you'll make the SecOps spend a fortune in boots!"

"Well, try to see the other side" Alan replied "You'll save on fuel. But if you really wanted to save some money which you are spending to buy shoes, why didn't you ask for an avatar for Michel? I mean, Na'vi are supposed to walk barefoot, and so Michel could have done"

Lynch chuckled and patted Alan on the shoulder.

"You're just a bright spark, young one" he said grinning "Well, someone _had_ asked for soldier avatars"

"That someone wasn't on Pandora last time!" replied Selfridge from inside "I _do_ know what happens when a soldier is painted blue!"

"Let's get down, Doyle!" Lynch said jumping on the ground and gesturing to Alan to do the same "I think we're there"

He started walking faster, he pushed aside some plants and… stopped.

"Selfridge, are you sure we went the right direction?" he asked, turning

"Of course that's the right direction!" Selfridge replied putting an exopack on and getting down "Why, what's the matter?"

"A lake, sir"

"A lake?" Alan asked, coming forward. Yeah, that thing that could be seen beyond the plants was definitely water

"An _artificial_ lake" Selfridge clarified "Even that Spinozian goddess can't make tons of water flow in _our_ mine!"

"Spinozian goddess?" Alan asked

"Yeah, a philosopher called Benedict de Spinoza talked about a "nature deity"" Michel intervened getting close

"How do you know it?"

"A Philosophy class test. I copied the Spinoza part from the boy next to me, a swot we all called Thunder. It was the only totally right answer I wrote"

"Why did you call him Thunder?" one of the young soldiers asked

"Because his brother was nicknamed Jolt"

"Yeah, yeah, let's set aside Jolt and Thunder and let's mind the lake" Selfridge said "I bet Locke has a hand in this"

"Locke? David Locke you mean?" Michel asked

"Yeah, Dave Kenobi. The damn knight errant" Selfridge moaned leaning against a tree "He could have been the next Einstein, if he just had not loved so much those big blue monkeys…"

"Albert Einstein had his morals, too" Michel replied

"You think too much to be a soldier!" Selfridge interrupted him "Blah, blah, blah. You just sound like your Sully friend in the last period. Don't mind Einstein's morals. Just mind your gun!"

He turned to Lynch and murmured: "That's why I don't want blue soldiers!"

Michel clenched his fists, but only Alan noticed it.

"We'd better go and see what's going on" Lynch intervened "I saw someone. I think it's Kay with some kids"

"Blue?" Selfridge asked

"No. Not all of them. There's a human girl, and two of the boys are wearing trousers. One's even got a basketball outfit and a cap!"

"_Austin_" Michel murmured, shaking his head "I think we'd better get back to base camp"

"No, no, and no, Karloff. We're staying here and we're trying to find out what the hell's going on. And you and Lynch go first" the stinking businessman said

Michel went forward, quickly followed by the Colonel. Alan followed Michel and the Colonel. He did not want to stay with the soldiers. He just could not think of himself as one of them. He was no jarhead. He was a cop. A cop who was going to kick Selfridge in jail.

He saw that footballer kid, Tom, who was splashing in the water with his friends. One of them, Gabriel, was sitting on the shore, looking at his knees, and Florence and a human girl were sitting near him. Then there were two more kids, definitely avatars, who were playing in the water. Alan recognized the older one as Austin, the camera kid, but he had never seen the other one.

"Lucky them" Lynch moaned "I never had the chance to play this way"

"I used to play with water a lot" Michel said grinning "My father was a fireman. Jake, Tommy and I just used to get a hose and spray water everywhere until he did not arrive and shout his head off"

"Jake and Tommy?"

"My best friends" Michel said "There were two boys called Jacob in my class, and the teachers could not use surnames because one of them, the one I used to call Jolt, had a brother in the same class. So they started using Jacob Cooper's middle name, Scott, to tell them apart"

"Really?" Lynch asked "Excuse me, Michel, but has this Jacob Scott Cooper black hair and glasses?"

"Yeah"

"One of the cooks at the base camp is known as Scott Cooper"

That thing just stunk to Alan. There were too many coincidences. Locke's nephew and niece. Sully's classmates. Augustine's daughter. Well, they needed only Faraday's former boyfriend to make a huge family reunion!

Was that an idea of Selfridge's? And what did Michel think about that?

"Well, if you want to have a look, you may, I think" Michel resolved "But I don't think the boys will appreciate undesired guests. Especially _Thomas_"

* * *

_(Gabriel's POV)_

"And so… has he really gone?" Helena asked

"Yeah. Gone, but he says he'll return" Gabriel answered. That was one of the few times he felt uncomfortable in his avatar body. When he had to talk to Helena. And the fact he had only Peter's old clothes on just added embarrass to his embarrass.

Oh, well, he had never had clothes that were really his own. The matter, this time, was that he was not used to wander around without at least his trousers.

"Hey, who's over there?" Helena said standing up "Isn't that Michel?"

"Oh, _no_" Florence moaned, looking in the direction Helena was pointing "Not the trigger happy assholes"

"Michel is no asshole" Tom replied

"Maybe he isn't, but Colonel Lynch maybe is" said Florence pointing to a dark-skinned, muscular man in a soldier's outfit who was standing next to Michel and Alan "Kids, you'd better go back to a safe place. I'll keep Lynch at bay"

"But…" Adrian said "We can trust Michel and Alan, so why should we run?"

"Huh, huh" another voice said "Are you baby-sitting like your mummy did, Florence?"

"Stay out of this, Parker" Florence replied, stepping forward

Gabriel looked at the newcomer. Yep, he had seen him. Just, in a photo, without grey streaks in his black hair, and grinning, not scowling at someone. Parker _Selfridge_.

"Well, when you get friends, you do introduce them, Florence. Didn't your mother teach you this?"

"Don't even talk about her, you stinking bag of shit!" shouted Tom jumping out of the water with a stone in his slingshot's pocket.

"Do we know each other, kiddo?" Selfridge asked "You quite look like an old acquaintance of mine. Just… he was white, not blue"

"Have you heard Florence? Just go away! This is our land!"

"Yeah, yeah, now I do recognize you"

He turned to the man called Lynch.

"I just think the blue jarhead has had some fun"

Tom pulled the stone in the slingshot and snarled.

"What's up? Afraid to hit?" Selfridge teased him "I just think that's unobtanium. You'd make me a pleasure if you pass me that"

"Just gimme a chance, come on" he was uttering

Selfridge gestured to Lynch, who got a gun. He aimed. And stood still.

"Thomas, put it down" Florence said, in a calm voice "You'll give them the chance to fight back"

As Tom dropped the stone in the water, Lynch slowly lowered his weapon. He seemed… scared.

"Let's get away. Now" Florence said, picking Helena up and leading them back in the woods

"But… the lake… if they can burn down a forest, what are they going to do with our lake?" Thomas protested following Florence in the shadow of the trees

"Nothing much, as all the old tools at Hell's Gate seem to be deliberately broken. They won't even be able to burn the forest. You can feel safe… for a while. Until the next cargo ships won't arrive with the stuff Selfridge asked for"

"How much time?" Gabriel asked, as they started walking fast back to Hometree

"About six months, even more. Six months is the time they need to travel, but they'll need to pack everything up on Earth and find the crew for the ships, and it's going to be Christmas in three weeks, and people on Earth don't exactly work a lot in these times. But I think they'll also call some more soldiers, so, if you want to do something to stop them, you got to do it _now_"

"Can you please put me down? I can walk on my own" Helena said to Florence

"Oh, yeah. Sorry" Florence answered putting Helena down. Gabriel just remembered his first day outside, when Peter had carried him on his shoulders for a while, and then had pushed him a bit.

Then he remembered he was gone.

That could not be.

Now they could really be brothers, he had gone away to look for his past.

"What's up, kid? Still depressed for your brother?" Florence asked as they were walking deeper in the forest, in paths the Sky People did not know and could not use

"Yeah. I mean… I hoped he would have taught me to use a bow, to follow the tracks, to use a bola… stuff like that… you know. What older brothers do… or at least, what they do _here_"

"Wait, do you mean I'll have to do that stuff with Michael?" Tom moaned "Oh, no"

"You should consider yourself lucky, having a brother. I always wanted a brother or a sister, but I never had" Florence replied

"He does not need to look that far. I'm the only child too" Austin replied "Even if now I could ask my parents for a little brother"

"No, Austin, don't ask them. You'll end up in deep shit" Tom nearly shouted

Gabriel and Helena chuckled, but Austin looked serious.

"Well, I'll run the risk" he said grinning and helping Helena to climb a root

"Austin!" Helena protested "No thanks!"

"On Earth we'd call it chivalry" Florence commented "It's not a thing most of the boys do, but when they do, it means they're good sorts"

"Yes, but…" Helena tried to reply "I don't need someone to help me, I'd feel weak, and I'm not! I could send Newton to the ground with my hands behind my back!"

"Helena's right. We don't need chivalry here on Pandora. Boys and girls are on the same level" Tom said "Even if this has its flaws. Just like when I have to let the girls play soccer"

"Just hope Ilyana is not around" Helena replied, chuckling

Gabriel, Austin and Adrian started laughing.

"I'm afraid we won't be able to talk to the adults too soon" Tom commented as they arrived to Hometree "Well, it's about Norm. He's going to the Well of Souls, he'll pass through Eywa's eye. So, I really think they all left"

"Well, aren't here any humans? I mean, adult humans"

"There may be George" Austin commented "He's probably at the New Colony. You should go and look for him"

"Why, what do you kids have to do?" Florence replied

"A soccer match"

* * *

_-__ From Charles Martin's video log -_

_I really like this place. And… finding Uncle David… the Uncle David… __well, he can't do anything for Jimmie but I'm glad I've found my family. Well, Gabriel hates me but I can't help it. I just don't like religion – why should I believe in a… a goddess which just seems jumped out of Spinoza's books? Maybe one day I'll understand. Or maybe not. But my research is turning out for the best. The samples Norm gave me just seem better plants than the ones grown in greenhouses on Earth. They have a faster growth and a faster reproduction, and they also seem to be good to eat. Now I only have to find the mutating factor, so that I'll be able to reproduce it and bring back green on Earth. Not just with wheat and vegetables, I mean. Also with pines, oaks and stuff like that. I want to see the Sherwood forest expanding in its previous magnificence. I want an alive planet, not that grey, deadly trap. I can understand why did Grace Augustine liked plants better than people. Plants at least don't kill people._

_Oh, and by the way, Florence and I found in an abandoned mobile unit Grace's last notes. That's like Flint's treasure for me… I mean, there are things in there I could not even IMAGINE. Now Florence and I are still trying to sort things out, but as soon as I'll understand everything about that, I'll work on that, too. Maybe, if Florence lets me do it, I can write a book commenting these… let's call them Apocrypha. That would grant me the money to buy a nice house, and make a future for my brother… but, as my mother would have said, priorities first. Now I just have to raise the money, I'll mind about how I'll use it when I'll get it._

_Charles Martin out.

* * *

_

_(Jake's POV)_

That was the fourth time he saw that scene. Well, it was, including the time in which he had been looking at it naked with his back on the ground and some leaves on his privates.

Norm just seemed nervous, and Jake could understand him: even if the only one who had died passing through Eywa's eye had been Grace, and even Barbara, affected by lung cancer and still bleeding after giving birth to her daughter, had survived the thing, being "dead", even for a moment, was not especially pleasing for someone who did not know how would it have been.

"Just don't hang around for too long, you old chap" Jake said Norm, grinning "I don't think the class will like having Manfred as permanent teacher"

Norm laughed and hauled himself up a bit.

"Well, I know that's a selfish thought, but at least I'll meet Trudy again" he said, turning serious "How was it, Jake?"

"Well, I can tell you what happened to me" Jake answered "I found myself in… well, a circus. Something like that. Most of all because, after a school play whose director had Italian origins, I liked the idea of heaven being a huge circus. And… I found Tommy there. And Michel, who had nearly fallen into a coma during a surgery. It was nice, being back to my fourth grade memories. I don't know what's going to happen to you"

"I just hope I'll find Trudy, if it's like you said" Norm resolved laying again on his back. It was time.

The Omaticaya's chant had stopped. Everything was supposed to turn out for the best, but Jake felt slightly afraid. He knew there was nothing to fear, but that fear was irrational, just like the class test day at the elementary school. He knew there was nothing to fear, yet he could not help being afraid.

"See you later, Norm" he only managed to say, as his friend closed his eyes and – seemingly – fell asleep.

Now they just had to wait for him to wake up.

* * *

_(Peter's POV)_

The sky was getting red, and the air was getting slightly cold. As Peter had heard, those places were highly dangerous. The humans called that place the Forest of Leo, while it was famous among the People as _Torukä Na'ríng_. No better name for danger.

Well, every place he had been in had been quite dangerous. But he had survived. He had survived even the Sky People.

Hook, his ikran, seemed nervous. He was in places he never had been before… and he surely felt his rider's uneasiness, too. But they had to go on.

Peter had to find his real self, the one who had literally been killed when the Omaticaya Hometree had been destroyed. What he was going to do _next_, he did not know. But he had promised his brother he would have returned, and he was going to keep his promise.

"_Mawey, Hook. Mawey_"

He ordered him to go down.

He missed his family. At that time, Gabriel always asked him to go to the lake and they could pass hours skipping stones on the water. When he did not have to do something else.

Hook landed on a huge branch, and Peter jumped off him. What he saw under him was a labyrinth of branches and roots, and the underbrush under them, apparently impossible to cross.

That meant he had to use the branches.

"**Stay here, Hook. I'll be back**"

He started running on the branches, jumping from one to another. He was going to start his quest _there_.

The branches and the roots just seemed to have grown to make a pathway, as nearly everything in the places he knew. Maybe Eywa just did not take parts, but she did her best to make sure some places were okay for life.

Had he said okay? Yes, definitely. Well, after twelve years with doctor David Locke, he had surely taken something after him.

From the signals the wind sent to him, looking at the sky, and probing the ground, Peter realized he was getting close to a settlement. There were some ikrans in the sky, and he could spot their riders. There were hunters around. Good. They surely were not going to refuse, if he asked a place to spend the night.

He came back to Hook and ordered him to fly. In two minutes ("Da" had really had some influence on him!) he was among them, and some of them noticed him and gestured him to land in a clearing.

As they landed, the one who had addressed him jumped off his ikran and got close to him.

"**Who are you, which clan are you from, and who's your father?**" he asked

"**The Blue Flute Clan calls me Peter, son of David, but I'm a foundling in a quest for my past**" Peter answered "**I ask to be allowed to pass the night in your settlement**"

"**Peter is a Sky People name**" said another hunter coming close. Peter noticed he had five fingers "Do you speak English?"

"Yes, I do" Peter answered, smiling "Who are you?"

"You can call me Able" the five-fingered hunter said "So, you said you're Omaticaya. I heard there are a lot of humans there"

"Yeah. My father died in the Great Sorrow, so a dreamwalker took me as his own son"

"David, you said. That explains a lot of things" Able commented "You said you want a place to sleep for the night, you'll have one. Let's go"

* * *

_*** For who doesn't know the Harry Potter saga, Quidditch and Hermione are both taken from it. (Hermione is quite a smart ass, that's why Gabriel replies that way to Helena)**_

_**I apologize to everyone for the delay in the chapters. Writing is getting harder and harder, and I'm running out of ideas. I could really use some support, so if you want to hit that "review" button in the bottom… Hey, readers, do you know I'm planning a sequel, too?

* * *

**_

_**From next chapter: "For a can of Coca Cola"**_

_**And, before I say anything more about Marines, I'd better just remember that once I was one of them. Jake old chap, you're making stereotypes... well, I'd better have five minutes a day to remember who I was. But where the heck is Mi**__**chel?**_


	15. For a can of Coca Cola

Chapter 14

For a can of Coca Cola

_(Jake's POV)_

As it seemed, RDA activity had begun. Florence's report on Selfridge trying to get back the old mine… and the businessman's astonishment when he had found out "someone called David" and a team of avatar drivers and hunters had filled the crater with water… just gave no room to other hypothesis. They wanted unobtanium again.

Well, he knew now they were going to dig under the old Hometree. And they had left something over there, too. Not a lake, as Selfridge would have surely thought some water was worth the effort, and the other mine was running out when the humans had been sent away. They had simply buried all the soldiers dead in the battle, and signaled their graves with makeshift crosses. No miner right in the head would have dug in a graveyard, even if there was unobtanium under it. They would have stopped digging as soon as they would have found the first corpse.

He just hoped Michel to come back soon, as his lifelong friend surely could give him some more information, especially about the SecOps. Florence, by the way, had her scientist's work, and could stay unlinked for hours even during the day.

_Like mother, like daughter_.

Her companion, Charlie, just seemed more… well, childish. Obviously that was because he was five years younger, more eager to learn, maybe even just happy to be there. He usually spent most of his time talking to David about the forest and the plants, or walking around with the face of a little kid in a toy shop. Sel'cral had tried teaching him something, and his report had been that the young man was… well, as overexcited as a kid could have been. But he also was a good learner, when he was not too excited to hold a bow the right way.

Ha'sila was trying to teach something to Florence, but she preferred spending her time with the kids, watching them playing or acting, in the first days overall, as a supply teacher for Norm, as the now former avatar driver had needed some time to get used to his new status quo.

Was it possible that there were people like Florence and Charlie and people like Selfridge? And, now there was no Quaritch, what was pushing Selfridge to come back to Pandora, if he had seemed so uncomplaining when he had been sent away? Who was the puppeteer behind the throne this time?

As Thomas had said, surely not Colonel Lynch, who seemed to have enough wisdom to lower a gun in front of a kid. Maybe Lynch was a man with whom a talk was possible… oh well, if he had had the common sense to lower a gun, he surely was a lot better than Quaritch.

_And, before I say anything more about Marines, I'd better just remember that once I was one of them. Jake old chap, you're making stereotypes... well, I'd better have five minutes a day to remember who I was. But where the heck is Mi..._

"Hey there, Jolt!" Michel shouted from one of the paths the children had used to get to the New Colony. There were Diego and Beatrice with him.

"Where's Alan?" Jake asked spotting them "I thought you let him replace me"

"Yeah, but the Colonel just wants him as a help" Michel answered raising his shoulders "He says Alan's a bright spark. By the way, Jake, do you know who's in the RDA crew? Scott Cooper!"

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Lynch told me it some days ago. Then I went looking for him… and the old Chubb did not believe it when he saw me. And… he did not even know that you're here… I mean, he heard the news but he did not link the facts. By the way, he's working as a cook. And this whole situation, in my opinion, just smells. I mean, Florence, Beatrice and Charlie are clever people, they _might_ have been chosen even just for that. But… when I made my demand, they accepted it in a day. And even Scott… he did not make a demand, they went looking for him… I just think there's something behind all this show. So I went looking for _this_" and he held out a data pad "The names, surnames and main data of the whole crew. Maybe you'd want to examine this"

"Morning, guys" said David getting out of his hut with Gabriel and Charlie "What's new?"

"Michel has a list of the RDA crew" Beatrice explained sitting down "By the way, good morning, Uncle David"

She just seemed glad to say it. Well, maybe, as most of the children on Earth, she had grown in a small family.

"No laughter, Trish, please" Charlie said, nearly hiding behind his uncle. Just now Jake noticed the young botanist had dismissed his trousers and was wearing an old loincloth which probably had belonged to David.

"Why should I? You look good" Beatrice replied as they all sat down "Maybe I should take you a nice pic, so we'll show it to Jimmie as soon as we come back!"

"Yeah, and you think Jimmie will stay serious!"

"No doubt, with such a clown as brother!" Gabriel said, adding then a raspberry

"Well, if I'm a clown you're a buffoon!" Charlie replied, showing the inner part of his lower eyelid

"Why does my family look like a circus?" Beatrice commented shaking her head

"He started it!" Charlie shouted, pointing at Gabriel

"Why don't you go and look for Sel'cral?" David asked Charlie "And you, Gabriel, shouldn't you be at school?"

Charlie and Gabriel stood up, and Gabriel started running, while Charlie looked around for his teacher.

"It would be great if you came back with us" Beatrice said to David "They'd allow you, if you tried to get Jimmie"

"Well, I'm afraid I can't" David said "I can't just go away, I've got… a family, here. I just can't get Gabriel, Helena and Alicia and leave Peter alone. And by the way, Gabriel and Helena have their own friends here, and I'm quite sure that on Earth we're just as good as outlaws. But…"

"But?" Charlie said, coming back

"We were not just two. We were four" David resolved "And my parents… your grandparents… are still alive and well. And you've even got four more cousins. They're all in Newbridge, Ireland. Why, didn't anyone tell you?"

"No one" Charlie said, before going away

"Yeah, but… now, we have work to do" Michel said, showing the data pad "David, so you're from Newbridge. There is a man from Newbridge in the list. Tyler Hudson. Is the name familiar?"

"_Tyler_?" David asked, jumping just like if he had been hit by an arachnoid "A tanned, sturdy, dark-haired man?"

"Never seen him. Must be in the high ranks" Michel answered

"I've met him. Your description corresponds. He's a psychologist" Diego said

"Psychologist? I'd say psychopath" David replied "He was sort of a bully. He had no friends, at school. Except for me. I was fool enough to go quacking behind him. He ruined my primary and first two secondary school years. Then I got Bernard Kay's scholarships and I literally ran off Ireland. During the tests to get the scholarship… a very, really hard thing, most of the kids of my class gave up after ten minutes… he tried to copy my work, but I said him to do it on his own. After it, he beat me up until my older brother, Toby, who had come there to pick me up with his motorbike, got there and literally sent him to the hospital. He also got a denounce, but some weeks later I got the scholarship and my father thought the best thing for me was leave quickly for the USA. A week after my departure, Natasha left Newbridge, to attend university. She never came back, as I never did"

"So the point is…" Diego started "this man is not your friend?"

"Far worse" David answered "He's dangerous, Seneca. When he tried to pull a prank on someone, he always thought the best way to do it. His pranks were not fun at all, some kids in my class just called him Jigsaw... he gave hell to a whole class"

"So you say he always tried to find out the best way to harm someone?" Diego asked

"Yeah. I know how did he plan his pranks because I've seen him doing many. He stuck his victim in a situation he could not get out but doing a thing Tyler wanted him, or her, to do, which the kid would have never done in the right mind"

David stayed silent for a moment.

"And the fact that Natasha died, and she was supposed to be in Tyler's same flight… that's no coincidence, believe me. Tyler _hated_ Natasha and Toby. He could not do anything on them just because they were older, at the time. Toby was seventeen and Natasha nineteen when I left"

Michel was listening carefully to David. He seemed to be getting clues.

"I just think there will be a pair of zip-ties for the psychopath, too" he murmured

"Just wait, Michel" David replied "I'm going to face Tyler by myself. I still have to settle accounts with him"

"Do what you want, Locke, but do it quickly. Next week's Christmas, and then the supplies ordered by Selfridge will start coming here" Diego said, standing up and walking back and forth "We need to disarm the RDA forces before they get more. If Selfridge's tied up, we can manage to push away those transports easily. And if we tie him up in the time between Christmas and New Year's Day, we could even stop the cargos from actually leaving Earth. But if he's still working, and Tyler with him, you're in deep danger. Your kids overall. Selfridge's planning to take them to Earth"

* * *

_(Elizabeth's POV)_

"Prometheus! Get off my bed right now!"

The old crossbreed cat somehow yawned and jumped on the carpet. Elizabeth had chosen him because he was unique: she had never seen a cat like that, with so many untidy spots which seemed to have no sense at all.

When Joseph had suggested the name "Prometheus", she had protested, but now she recognized it was no bad name. It just suited to that big, fat cat, even if she and Joseph had had to find diminutives to tell him off.

She sat on her bed and opened up her laptop computer, then started the messaging program. Maybe Jonno and Allison, her classmates, had already started surfing the net. There was an essay to be made for the next day, something about "Describe a relative or a friend of yours and his or her typical day", but no one was going to do it. The very instructions made everyone yawn.

A window opened as the program started. _You have a request of friendship from GMarek2155._ It seemed a boy's account.

"Joseph!" she shouted "Is GMarek a friend of yours?"

"GMarek?" Joseph asked, entering her room "No, never heard. But I know about a video game character called Galen Marek, but it's old stuff, last century…"

"Well, there is a GMarek2155 who's asked me his friendship. I don't know who he is"

"Maybe he left a message" Joseph made her notice "By the way, he should be a boy of your age, or that's what the 2155 would mean"

He got the computer, and opened up the link in the window. Yeah, there was a video message. A fair-haired kid wearing what seemed goggles and an oversized blue t-shirt with the sentence "stop wars" printed on it appeared on the screen.

"_Hello, Elizabeth, I'm Gabriel John Locke and I'm a friend of Thomas's. As he has no email address we'll be both calling from this. I just hope I'm not bothering you"_

Joseph stared at the movie and grinned.

"He's the boy Dad talked us about. The one who mocked him. Whoa, my compliments, Liz, now you've got contacts on Pandora, too!"

He clicked on the "accept" key and gave Elizabeth her computer back. The name "GMarek2155" had turned into "Gabriel John Locke". The icon also clarified Gabriel's computer was on.

"Why don't you call him?" Joseph asked "You know, maybe he's even a nice boy… I heard from Dad that boys on Pandora have the hoopster's build"

"_Joseph_!"

"Okay, okay, I'll be quiet. You should call him, anyway, maybe his Thomas friend is with him… by the way who's Thomas?"

"If you're too dumb to remember it, he's Jake Sully's son. And he's got my age. Get lost, Joseph, okay? I'll decide when I'll talk to them"

Joseph stood up and went out of the room. _At last, _Elizabeth thought.

Her brother was not dumb, but sometimes she preferred staying alone.

She placed the computer on her desk and sat on the chair. If that conversation was going to last, she did not want a hot water bag on her knees.

She started the call.

The very same blond, nerdy boy of the video, with the very same tee, appeared on the screen and grinned. He was outdoor, and sat cross-legged on the ground. As Elizabeth could guess, his computer was a laptop and was currently on the ground.

"Is that you, Elizabeth?" he asked

"Yeah. You must be Gabriel" Elizabeth answered "Nice T-shirt"

"What? This?" Gabriel stuttered "It's nothing much, it was my Da's. You know, you can't actually buy clothes down here. We have to be happy with what we already have. But I can say it's not few, believe me. We may lack clothes, but we have plenty of other stuff that makes that problem a walkover!"

"Just like, Mister Locke?"

"Just like friends!" said Gabriel standing up and pulling an ear to someone out of camera range "Come on Tom, she's just Michel's daughter!"

Thomas seemed to be loads stronger than him, as he did not appear.

"He's kind of a shy guy, I think" Gabriel explained sitting down again and raising his shoulders

"Shy! Me? Try to say it again, shortie, and I'll…" another voice said. A blue hand pulled Gabriel's T-shirt to make him stand, and what seemed just a younger version of Jake pushed the human kid aside and tried his best smile.

"So, where do I have to look…?" he asked sitting down, clearly in embarrass.

"Right there, Tom!" Gabriel invaded again the camera range and pointed at the webcam "And next time, keep your hands off my clothes, if my Da finds out this T-shirt is torn, I'm dead!"

Elizabeth could not help laughing. Those two really seemed a funny pair.

"Hey, what's the laughter for?" Tom asked "You know, I'm a preteen just like you are"

"Well… you… you two I mean…" Elizabeth explained "Just behave like a pair of clowns… pulling, pushing, insulting, menacing, stuff like that. You're like some boys in my class"

Gabriel and Tom started laughing, too. Yeah, there was nearly no difference.

"Well, my Da just says the whole universe is just a town" Gabriel said "No matter how much we're different, there is always something similar"

Elizabeth had an idea. _That_ could make funnier her English homework.

"Just like school?" she asked

Both Gabriel and Tom gestured just like if they were about to puke, then roared with laughter.

"The best chance to waste three hours a day you mean?" Tom asked "Yeah we got school. English, Maths and Science"

"We have about six hours a day, and there are more subjects… lucky you, you've got the whole remaining day to play!"

"No we haven't" Tom replied "We have more to learn. You say you have more subjects, we just… well, have something else to learn. Everyone of us stays for a while with someone of the adults, we stay with them for a while so we can learn how to…"

"Can you please stop beating around the bush?" Elizabeth asked Tom

"Don't get mad, Elizabeth. Almost everyone grew up bilingual here, and Tom was one of the few whose first language was not English" Gabriel intervened "Well the "bush" is…" and he mimicked the ditto marks "that we all have to learn a… let's call it job. We do a kind of novitiate among the adults, usually it's a parent, but for example in my case is one of the elders, Rafe'ekan, the storyteller. We have to learn basic skills like archery, and tracking animals, and using a banshee catcher, because everyone needs to… even the kids who have no avatar have to, as they probably will get one in the next years. And then everyone has his personal chores. Mine usually are in the evening: sometimes Rafe'ekan makes me tell stories"

"Who's your master, Tom?" Elizabeth asked

"My Dad. He's the clan leader, so I'll probably be the next, unless something happens before I come of age. The second in the line is Michael, but you write it brother and you read it _bother_"

Elizabeth roared with laughter.

"Same goes for mine" she commented "Older or younger?"

"Younger. He's three years old and he's a _royal_ pain in the ass"

"Mine's older, and I can say he's a bother anyway… Liz, do this, Liz, do that, Liz, come here, Liz, I need a hand, and crap like that"

"Liz? Who are you talking to?" Joseph's voice called from his room

"It's my own business, Joe!" Elizabeth shouted

"Joe's your brother?" Gabriel asked

"Only my father calls him like that" Elizabeth explained "His real name is Joseph"

"My brother's called Michael" Tom said

"And I've got a brother, Peter, and a sister, Helena" Gabriel resolved "Peter left some days ago, but Tom says he'll come back"

"He _will_ come back, I swear" Tom replied "With a brother like you, anyone would"

"Hey guys!" a third voice called. A stout kid, with chestnut hair and wearing a taken in army uniform, was some steps behind Gabriel, holding a can of coke.

"What's up, Newt?" Gabriel asked, turning

"A man gave me this while Andreas and I were at the lake" Newt explained showing the can "We tried to open that, but it was no use"

What… a boy in a Marine's adapted outfit just could not open a can of Coca Cola? It just seemed absurd. No, it _was_ absurd.

"Newt or whatever's your name, did you try to use the lever on the top?" Elizabeth asked

"Name's Newton" the kid answered "And anyway, what lever? I see no lever"

He showed her the top of the can. Probably, he had tried to break it open with a stone and had failed, because the little piece of tin that had to be used as lever to open the can was missing, and there were dents in the metal.

"Boys are so stupid" Elizabeth commented

"Hey!" the three of them shouted. Elizabeth started laughing.

"You tried to break that open, Newt, and you broke the lever, that's why you can't see it" she said Newton "Now, I'm sorry, but you're really fucked up"

Newton grimaced, then looked at Gabriel and Tom.

"Can you help me? Please! I got to find a way to open this thing… the man who gave me this just told me it tastes delicious!"

Gabriel got the can in his hands and smiled shyly.

"Elizabeth, I'm afraid I have to end the call. Just call again, okay? I don't use the laptop very often, but I'll let myself be heard. Just don't be afraid if sometimes I'll be driving my avatar when I'll answer"

"He's far nicer when he's in there, Liz, so don't expect him to be scary" Tom resolved, waving bye-bye.

The window closed itself. Another window opened. It was her classmate Jonathan Traviss, better known as Jonno. Most of the girls had a thing for him, but for Elizabeth he was just a friend. Saying that most of the girls just envied her for that was useless.

"Hi, Jonno. You won't imagine who did I just meet… I just think I gathered enough information for my English essay…"

* * *

_(Gabriel's POV)_

"Okay, we'll just have to find a cup. And a stone. A rather heavy one" Gabriel said, holding the can "Tom, you'd better use the stone, you're the strongest boy among us"

"Ohh-kay" Tom said, looking around for a stone

There was, as it seemed, only one way to open that: break it in two. That was why they needed the cup: they would have put the can in the cup, and Tom would have broken it with a rock.

All was right: Newt had put the can in the cup, and Tom had found a stone as big as his fist and was cleaning it.

"I'm ready!" he said, holding up the rock

"Okay, let's do it!" Gabriel resolved, putting the cup on the ground and standing back "Three… two… one… FIRE!"

Tom raised the rock and hit the can hard. The red cylinder broke in two, and a maroon fluid spilled in the cup.

"And you think that's going to taste good?" Tom said Newt, grimacing "It's the same color of poo!"

"Well, I want to try" Newt replied, removing the remains of the can from the cup and raising it "Cheers"

He raised the cup to his lips and drank for a little time. Then lowered the cup. Then grimaced. Then he swallowed. He looked just like if he had just cleaned the public toilets with his tongue.

"This thing tastes like piss!" he said shaking his head and rubbing his tongue with his hands "How can kids on Earth like it so much?"

"Well maybe they're so used to disgusting stuff they consider this delicious" Gabriel commented "I don't think we should throw this in a river, maybe it's polluting"

"So what can we do with it?" Tom asked

"Idea! We could give it back to them!" Newt said

"Yeah, and how?"

"Well, you've seen the jarhead, Alan. When he comes here again, we give him the cup and we tell him to take it to the base and shove it on Selfridge's head!"

"So, I bet you did not like the drink _I_ gave you, Newt" Diego said getting close to the three of them

"Diego?" Newt asked, stuttering "Bu-bu-but-but… you… him… there… that was _you_?"

Diego chuckled. Yeah, in fact, no one of the kids had seen him out of his avatar.

"I just wanted to see your reactions" Diego explained "That explains you don't look a lot like your Terran colleagues. They'd need two seconds to open the can and one to drink all the coke. Believe me, my son used to do so when he was a little kid"

Tom, Newt and Gabriel roared with laughter. Then Newt turned white.

"Guys I feel sick" he moaned "I think it's that thing…"

Tom scowled at Diego and hold up a fist.

"If he stays sick because of you, I'll tell my father to…" he menaced, but a loud burp made by Newt interrupted him

"Better" Newt resolved, holding his stomach

Diego laughed again.

"So, now, what were you saying, Thomas?"

Tom looked at the half full cup, then at Gabriel, then at Newt, and blinked. He ducked to pick up the cup and…

"Drench the Dreamwalker Diego!"

* * *

_(Peter__'s POV)_

"Hey. Boy? Anything wrong?"

"Me…? No, nothing wrong. It's just that… finding my family, and then having to come here, and… I'm just confused. I mean, now I don't even know what do I have to say when I introduce myself… I don't even know who I am"

Able smiled sympathetically and sat next to him.

"Well, as you told me… according to human calendar you're fifteen years old, you're in the Tipani Hometree, you've got a dark green banshee you called Hook, and you've grown up among the Omaticaya, attending Norm Spellman's school. Am I right?"

"Yes you are"

"And you speak English better than some classmates of mine in California, when I was your age. Can you do me a favor, please?"

"Anything" the boy called Sle'tlen answered

"Can I still call you Peter?"

Sle… no, _Peter_, nearly bounced on the spot. The man was asking him to keep his identity? Or maybe he was just trying to be kind?

"You're homesick, Peter, you could see it from klicks. You miss your stepfather, don't you?" Able said "Your friends? Anyone in particular? There's nothing wrong in that, I've seen many homesick people in my life"

The word meant nothing to Peter, even if he knew home meant home and sick meant not staying okay. Well he was not okay, that was for sure.

"Homesick?" he asked

"It means you miss your family"

"But my family…"

"Your family is the one you've grown to love. Your family's David, or so you consider now"

"I've found my real family here. My mother, my grandparents… they're here"

"Don't try to fool anyone, Pete. You wanted to do this journey to defeat an old fear. Didn't you? Come on, what are you afraid of?"

He swallowed. He had not said this to Da, or to Gabriel. Not even to Sel'cral and Ha'sila. He had gone away, now the war was beginning, because he did not want to see the moment he would have lost them, too. He had thought that maybe, if he grew detached to them, maybe the pain of loss would not have been so sharp.

"Nothing" he spat out

"Oh yeah? Maybe you think they'll die, now the Sky People are back? Don't be a fool, Peter, the eyes of the Tipani are not blind. We know they're here. And we're going to fight alongside the Omaticaya if we have to, even if we did not the last time. And by the way, you could lend a hand. As you know the Omaticaya, you could speak to your olo'eyktan and…"

"Don't you know him? He was a human warrior too"

Able stood up quickly.

"You're joking right? I heard the only soldier beside me was killed. What's his name?"

"Jakesully"

"Jake what?"

"_Jake Sully_!"

"Don't know him, sorry"

"Never mind, maybe you've heard about David Locke"

"Well… you mean your stepfather is _the_ David?" Able asked "A ginger-haired man, always talking about action and reaction?"

"Yeah"

"We were in the same shuttle, but we were assigned to different locations. He seemed nice to me, but he was too… sheepish. Hardly even defended himself from some guys who kept calling him Kenobi…" Able said grinning "I hope he's changed. Maybe, when you'll go back to the Omaticaya, I'll come with you and greet everyone. Is Barbara still there?"

"Yes"

"And Serge and Annemarie, the doctors?"

"They have a son, Austin. He's got a dreamwalker body, too, even if he's just ten, and he always walks around shooting flashes with a black box he calls _ca'mee'ra_"

Able chuckled. He seemed to know what the thing was.

"Yeah, I remember Serge had a camera. It's a thing which allows you to draw a picture in a moment. Talking about the others, how's Grace?"

"Never met someone called like that, but a young woman, Florence, who came with the Sky People in these days, says she's her daughter"

"Florence Kay, right? David just told me one of her hobbies was bothering the scholars. She just waited for him to fall asleep in the libraries and then she stuck marshmallows in his hair… by the way, Peter… running away is not the right way to come to terms with your fears. You got to fight them, to help your family, so you won't lose them. As soon as we can, I'll lead you back to the Omaticaya. I think your grandfather will insist for you to do the Dream Hunt before Sky People start attacking"

"They won't attack so soon. Jakesully has destroyed the things they left, now they have few weapons, few buildings, and few machines. I think we can stay calm for a while"

"I don't think so. If they ain't acting, they're planning. We'll need all the help we can get, and it doesn't matter if it's the Great Leonopteryx or a kid with a camera. I'm going to the Omaticaya settlements, young man, and you'll show me the way"

Peter looked at Able and smiled. He seemed quite serious about that… he really was going to do something to save his family… well his second family.

Could he trust him? Well, maybe. He just needed to wait.

* * *

_**From next chapter: "Chasing dreams"**_

"_**Well, they survived for years without presents, so for one more Christmas without toys they should resist" Florence said crossing her arms "You're screwing us, Hudson. We're researchers, not elves or reindeer!"**_

"_**Know what, geeks? I'm a step under Selfridge, and Selfridge's miles over you" Hudson resolved "So dress up as elves and reindeer and give those kids their toys!"**_


	16. Chasing dreams

_**One more exam and I'll be on vacation! I hope for a high mark, because I kind of like the subject… Organic Chemistry ;P**_

_**Anyway if I'm lucky and someone restarts leaving reviews, in next chapter I'll link a drawing of the main OCs (you know… the Locke twins, Austin, Adrian, Tom, Michael…) I'm finishing in these days. There will be only the kids in this drawing, but I'm planning to draw other characters like David, Peter and Florence (and, maybe, my version of Able).**_

_**I'm also planning to write another fanfiction, which should be titled "Eywa's stepchildren – **__**Becoming a family" (in the Italian version, the title of THIS fanfiction is "Eywa's stepchildren – Part of a family"), and it's going to be this story, just nearly totally from Jake's, Norm's, and Neytiri's POV.**_

_**There will be a sequel of this fanfiction, too, "Crossing the shadow line", set after three years.**_

_**I see you all, readers!**_

Chapter 15

Chasing dreams

_(Alfred's POV)_

"So this is Kingsbridge" Edmund said, grinning "Look at there! A cathedral, we could…"

"Ned, once is enough. And this time, your Da is not so far, so if we pull a prank we're both dead!" Alfred replied "And if we get a bad name for ourselves, how can we find Aunt Natasha's son?"

Even if Earth was a dying planet, that period of the year coincided with life. Alfred just _loved_ Christmas. Once a year, they just could forget they were condemned. Once a year, they could hope. There were Christmas trees everywhere and the streets shone with lights, and there were groups of people in the streets, singing carols.

One of the singers had mistaken him with someone called Charles, but had quickly apologized as soon as Alfred had taken off his beanie to clean up the snow, quickly explaining that his friend Charles was blond and not dark.

Uncle William and Daniel reached them in the street, Daniel humming what seemed: "_And so this is Christmas, and what have you done?_"

"Yeah, Danny, I think there are enough carol singers here in the streets. Why don't you join a group?" Edmund asked his brother

"Edmund!" Uncle William told him off

"Yeah, sorry Dad"

"I've found the foster family we were looking for" Uncle William said "It's two streets ahead"

Daniel seemed overjoyed. He surely had not expected a playmate for Christmas, even if it was still the 23rd of December.

"Okay, let's go" Edmund said, catching his brother's head and grazing his hair with a fist

A man stopped Uncle William and asked whether he was a relative of Natasha Martin's. Uncle William kindly answered he was a relative of Natasha Locke's. The man quickly explained that nearly everyone, in town, knew the Martins, and there had been a swift chain of help when Doctor Frederick and his wife had died. But then, a thief had stolen the funds they had raised to let the youngest kid, James, live with his siblings Beatrice and Charles, and the two older children had moved first to Cambridge, for Charles's university, and then in the USA, and now on Pandora, and who knows when and if will they come back… are you here to pick James up? Will you take him away?"

"Yeah, I'm his uncle" Uncle William said "He's going to stay with us. We're a big family, we bought a block of flats and we all live there. There's still place not for just one kid, but for five more people"

"Please make sure he's happy. He's seen too much for a twelve-years-old. His parents dead, his money stolen, his siblings leaving… well they never really left him alone, but… it's family, what he needs now"

Uncle William nodded, greeted the man and went to the door they knew was the foster home. He rang the door bell and waited: a middle-aged woman opened the door.

"Excuse me?" she asked

"Greetings, ma'am. William Locke. I sent you that email about one of the boys, James David Martin" Uncle William said "I'd like to meet him"

"Locke you said?" the lady asked "Family, aren't you? The social services phoned me some days ago, saying that…"

"Yeah. I'm the brother of Natasha Martin, née Locke. One of the three. I've got documents that can prove it, and the social services allowed me to take the boy to Newbridge, if he wants to. Now, if you please let us come inside… it's freezing cold out here, and I've got my sons and nephew with me"

"Well, even if it was summer, I'd let you in anyway" the lady said, leading them in "By the way, I'm Elizabeth Stephen, I'm the matron here. I lead this place with my husband and son, even if my son's far too young to lead anything"

She pointed to a twelve-years-old spectacled boy who was slouching on a couch playing with a portable game console.

"Jacob, please, behave while there is someone here!"

"But Mum…" Jacob protested, as his mother went in another room calling: "Jimmie! Someone for you!"

"Hello" Daniel said, taking his hat off "Danny Locke"

"Jacob Stephen"

"Nice to meet ya. And nice name too"

"Well, the year I was born in was the Jacob boom" Jacob explained "2154. I turned twelve last week"

"Yeah, that explains why my parents called me Daniel. I was born the following year… in February"

"We'd have called you Daniel anyway" Uncle William said, as Daniel blushed

"Yeah, always to someone else the important names" Daniel murmured "Ya know Jacob, my cousin's best friend is called Austin, even if he was born in 2156. Daniel doesn't mean anything, I just wish I had an…"

"Danny stop it!" Uncle William said looking daggers "If you feel your name is too common, why don't you study a bit and make a name for yourself like your uncle?"

"Why, what did…" Jacob asked, just to be interrupted by another boy of about his age, with fair hair, a long scar which started on his forehead, lined his left temple and reached his jaw, high cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes.

He was wearing a black sweater with the letters AVTR PROGRAM on it, and he somehow looked like Gabriel.

"Hi, Jimmie" Jacob said, yawning "Just watch out with him" then he said Daniel "He's had a hard time, so please don't give him fake hopes. He's had too many"

"Just shut it Jacob" Jimmie said scowling at him. Elizabeth entered the room.

"So, hello, James" Uncle William said coming forward and offering a hand for his newfound nephew to shake it "My name is William Locke. I'm your mother's brother"

The boy lowered his head and murmured "My mother's brother is missing, and is called _David_"

"He's a physicist and lives on Pandora. And he's got three kids, one of which is adopted" Uncle William continued "If you want the names of the kids, they're called Peter, Gabriel and Helena. Peter's the adopted one"

James David raised his head and asked "Really?"

"As soon as he gets to his computer again, I'll make you talk to him. When he found out everything about you and your family, he was really… upset. Never seen him so down"

"If he found out everything, why didn't he act before?" Jimmie asked

"Well he didn't find out a thing until your brother told him everything. Two FBI agents are looking into a series of murders and arbitrary captures on the Avatar Program scientists" Alfred intervened "Your brother Charlie found them out with Jake Sully's help…" (Jacob grinned and raised his thumbs) "… and a colleague of his, Florence, led him to David"

Jimmie looked puzzled, but grinned and nodded.

"And so…?" he asked

"We had a hard time trying to ask the social services to let you live with your grandparents, but in the end we managed to let them gain your custody. If you want to, you can come with us"

Jimmie looked in Uncle William's eyes, blinked, and then looked at Daniel, Edmund and Alfred.

"Me… with you?"

"Yeah. Not so complicated as it seems, kiddo" Edmund said raising his shoulders

"Well… I…" Jimmie said "I suppose it's the right thing. I'll come"

* * *

– _From Diego Seneca's video log – December the 2__3__th__, 2166_

_Selfridge's got no chance with these kids. They may look like, speak like, and even play like the kids down there on Earth, but they're different. In here. In their minds. They'd never leave this place if we asked them to._

_In these days, I've tried to see their reactions if they had in their hands simple things that on Earth you always see in a kid's hands: a can of coke, a chocolate bar, a bag of candies._

_They were able to open the can only when Thomas, a Na'vi eleven-years-old, broke it with a rock, and by the way instead of drinking the Coca Cola they drenched me with it. When I gave one of the kids, a seven-years-old boy called Terrence, the chocolate bar, he looked at it, smelled it, and threw it away as it started melting. When I asked him why, he answered it looked too much like poo to be good to eat._

_And, about the candies, I handed them to Austin, who, as some other kids told me, is a bottomless pit. He _did_ eat them all, but he stayed in bed for a couple of days for a terrible stomachache. And when I say terrible, I say terrible. His mother, a doctor, has asked Michel for some medicines… after smacking me heavily. I don't think she'll trust me now._

_By the way, even before Michel could go back to base camp, the Tsahik of the clan has found some kind of herbs which make the kid vomit everything he ate. Now he's okay, at least. And I also think those medicines would have made him feel worse, as no one of the kids has ever had flu, for example. Diseases here are very rare, so the kids have needed medicines very, really rarely. They could even develop allergic reactions, in my opinion._

_Apart from these problems, they're brilliant children, at least compared to their colleagues on Earth. Na'vi children, as I saw, are even better. I think it's a matter of how they have been brought up.

* * *

_

_(Diego's POV)_

"This really seems an Odyssey. I just hope I'll be able to play as a proper Ulysses"

Diego stood up and switched off his computer. One more day to Christmas's Eve. In the camp, a celebration was being organized… yet, Diego didn't think it was a proper thing. Many people had forgotten the true meaning of Christmas… just to take out an example, Selfridge and Hudson were not supposed to celebrate.

In the link shack, Florence and Charlie were decorating everything the best they could, and they had found somewhere a red cloth they had laid on the table.

"C'mon, Diego, make a smile… it's Christmas!" Charlie said, putting a Santa hat on his head

"Where did you find that?" Diego asked taking it in his hand

"Dyed red some sheets" Charlie quickly explained "Found a quite good crimson pigment while exploring with Sel'cral"

Michel, who was talking to a mobile phone, put it down on the table.

"I've got another plan, Charlie. I was talking to…"

"You're not staying here, Royal Academy of Science" Tyler Hudson said, entering the shack "Seneca. Remember the box? You never took it, never used it. I think it's time to play Santa Claus"

"Get off, Hudson" Michel intervened stepping forward "It's Christmas. We _might_ take a break and call home. On Earth, people are supposed to be on vacation, and so should we"

"Yeah, yeah, Karloff, everyone but Santa. And Santa, as far as I know, works only on Earth, so what should those kids say? They'll stay without presents!" Hudson replied "They've already got nothing!"

"Well, they survived for years without presents, so for one more Christmas without toys they should resist" Florence said crossing her arms "You're screwing us, Hudson. We're researchers, not elves or reindeer!"

"Know what, geeks? I'm a step under Selfridge, and Selfridge's miles over you" Hudson resolved "So dress up as elves and reindeer and give those kids their toys!"

He went out and shut the door.

"Why doesn't he take a long walk on a short pier?" Charlie protested "I think I know why Earth is poisoned. Maybe if we throw him to Bellatrix* we'll solve problems on our planet!"

Michel smirked.

"He wants Santa? He'll have Santa!" he said "Guys, before Tyler came, I was going to say you a thing: Jake's organizing a celebration for Christmas at the New Colony. Don't ask me why, he said he wants to do it just to stay together for a while. And he also said we – me, Alan, Diego, Beatrice and obviously Charles and Florence – are invited"

"And what does Santa Claus matter with this?" Charlie asked

"Well, in my class there was a boy who was… well, quite stout. Name was Jacob Cooper, but we all called him with his middle name, Scott… or with his nickname, Chubb"

"Wait, you mean… Scott Cooper, the cook?" Charlie asked "That man as fat as…"

"As Santa Claus? Yeah, Charlie. That's the point" Michel said crossing his arms "I'll just have to explain him a few things, but he'll accept. He'd do anything for the kid who saved him from the bullies"

"You?" Charlie asked

"No, Jake"

"Oh. All right. So you suppose he'll dress up as Santa and give the toys to the kids? We'd play Hudson's game!" Diego protested

"No, if we make them believe it was a gift of Santa Claus's" Michel replied

"Those kids are as smart as Einstein. You cannot make them believe in Santa!" Florence replied

"You knew Tom Sully, the scientist, right?" Michel asked Florence "He believed in Santa, and he kept believing in him even when he found out his father got dressed up every Christmas. Smart kids ain't different from normal kids. Tommy believed in Santa because he _liked_ believing in Santa. Once he said me Santa Claus did exist because he lives in our hearts. And if the kids of the Colony doesn't think like that, well I'll ask Tommy's nephew to make them reason"

Diego could recognize Michel had a point. Giving presents to the kids and say it was Santa Claus, and giving toys to them for Hudson's purpose were two different matters.

"Just a thing: who's that Tommy's nephew?" Charlie asked

"He's Thomas, you stupid" Florence replied

"You mean Gabriel's friend? Hey, maybe Gabriel knows some stories about Santa Claus… in your opinion, has he ever read the Chronicles of Narnia? I mean, I read that book as a kid and…"

"Why, can you read?" Florence replied

"Oh yeah I can! At home, I had at least a ton of books. My mom was used to…"

"Yeah, Charlie, now we got to think about Christmas" Beatrice interrupted him "One thing, Michel, there are the four crossbreed children who aren't in Hudson's list. What about them? There will be them, too, at the celebration… if Santa gives presents to the humans and not to the Na'vi, what will they think…? I mean, three out of four aren't even five years old, and the oldest one has a soldier's temper. We must think at something"

"Well, probably there will be enough stuff for them all" Michel said "And I quite know them, Thomas is crazy for soccer, and Michael likes drawing, for example. We must start making a list, checking the toys and matching them to a kid: for example, we could give Michael the pencil box and color book"

"Why don't we ask them what do they want?" Charlie proposed "Santa is supposed to read their mail, isn't he?"

"Yeah, but we don't have his toy shop. Just a box, big as it can be, but a box" Florence replied "We'll have to get by, guys, and the kids will have to, too"

* * *

_(Peter's POV)_

His companions for that task were a boy and a girl. They quite reminded him Sel'cral and Ha'sila, apart from the fact they were siblings, the girl was his age and the boy was one year younger.

They had started calling him Peter since they had seen him uncomfortable with his new identity, and they just kept asking him questions about how much different a dreamwalker was from a normal person. Even in that very moment, in which they were sitting and waiting to be called for the Dream Hunt task, they were asking questions.

"**They may be different as they can be… outside**" Peter was explaining to the boy, who had been called Lungoray after a shaman deceased during the war against Sky People "**But their souls aren't different from ours. At least, not the ones I know. Not the ones who raised me**"

"**Your mother said me you were taken by one of them as a son. Wasn't that… well, embarrassing?**" the girl, Nee'rae, asked him

"**Embarrassing?**" Peter asked, chuckling "**At the beginning I didn't recognize anything strange, and when I reached the age I could understand the differences, I was already used not to care about that. The bad thing happened one year ago, when a friend of my brother's stared at me**"

"**Brother?**" Lungoray asked

"**Yeah, he's eight-and-three and his name is Gabriel. He's the storyteller's apprentice. I've also got a sister, Helena. She and Gabriel were born the same day. Gabriel's got a dreamwalker body, Helena hasn't, but I think soon she'll get one.**"

He shook his head.

"**I miss them. Gabriel overall. And I miss my old friends. Ableryder said I must go back there as soon as I… well, perform the Dream Hunt. So, I bet tomorrow I'll see them again**"

"**I wouldn't be so happy if I were yo…**" Lungoray commented, just to be silenced by his sister's elbow.

"**You wouldn't be so ready to do the Dream Hunt, if Mother heard you**" she said

"**I**_** am **_**ready**" Lungoray replied "**Tell her, Peter. I am. Even if I'm not as old as you two. Please, Peter, I did tell your grandfather to call you like that…**"

Peter crossed his arms and thought. Yeah, Lungoray was a good sort, and a good friend, but his childish behavior could be corrected. And Nee'rae was quite vengeful when it was a little brother matter.

"**You would be more ready than me, if you didn't act like that. And by the way, you should be happy having a sister. Many kids I saw, among the Omaticaya, have no brothers and no sisters, and keep wishing for one. You may think your sister is a pain in the neck, but what if she went away, one day?**"

"**I can live on my own. I killed a **yerik **with a stone, I don't need a nurse**" Lungoray replied

"**I don't mean living, Lungoray. I mean… who will you talk to, who will laugh with you? Who will be a shoulder to cry on when you'll have your problems?**"

"**Er… you?**" Lungoray asked Peter

"**No way, chum. I said you I'm going back to the Omaticaya. Ableryder says we must stand together before the Sky People do anything bad**"

Lungoray fell silent, then looked at Nee'rae.

"**You won't leave me alone, too, will you?**" he asked

Then he hugged her.

"Peter?" Able called "It's your time"

Peter entered the aisle. There were his grandfather, Able, and Tsahik Sanume. It was his time. His time to become an adult.

* * *

_(Gabriel's POV)_

"… and, using the trick of the wooden horse, Ulysses and the Greek managed to enter in the city of Troy and end the long war"

Tom, as usual, clapped and cheered. Michael mimicked his brother, maybe just because he didn't know what to do.

It was not the first time Gabriel was telling a story, but it was the first time his audience was different: apart from Tom, Michael, and April, the other kids were all human.

Well, there was Luke, too, but the little one seemed too interested in his father's nursery rhyme to listen to the story of the Trojan horse.

"Your time, Newt" Gabriel said, getting out of the circle and patting his friend's shoulder. He, Austin, and Adrian weren't driving their avatars, nor were the adults. Not that night, Christmas's Eve.

Newton went in the circle and took out of a pocket his inseparable mouth organ and began playing.

It was a well-known tune among the Colony kids, and Gabriel and Austin had recently taught it to Tom and Michael. It surely wasn't a Christmas song. They weren't used to sing them. The usual Christmas picture, snow, snowmen, turkey, Santa Claus and cookies, just didn't suit to them. Well, there was a "Santa Claus", whom no one had ever seen, who left every year stuff like new shoes, stuffed animals made with old sheets, or little wooden toys, or old stuff the adults didn't use anymore. Newt and some other kids had received charcoal some times, and last time Newt had gotten a big lump of coal had been the Christmas after he had insulted Peter.

"Do you think Santa will come this year, too?" Adrian asked him once the song was over "I mean, the old Colony was easy to reach, but here we're in the middle of the forest…"

Gabriel sighed and smiled. There was no Santa, in reality: he had found it out at the age of nine, when he had seen his father sneaking out of their room. But he liked believing in him. Santa just was the love the adults gave to them, their smiles seeing the happy kids playing with a toy banshee or rocking a rag doll.

"Well, I'm not worried. He must be keeping another lump of coal for me" Newt said, sitting down

"Hey, don't forget he brought you that mouth organ when you were five" Helena replied "And the ball when you were four"

"As far as I've heard, Santa takes the coal to the bad kids" Adrian said "Did you behave well last year, Newt?"

"I don't think so" Tom said grinning "I never heard about a Santa Claus, but I think he gives toys only to humans. Never got anything" then he commented

"Well maybe because you never wrote to him" Helena replied "You know, Gabriel and I used to write to him – and when we couldn't, Da did it for us"

"Did you do it this year too?" Tom asked

"No, and I don't think anyone has" Gabriel answered

"I did" a small boy with black and curly hair intervened. Terrence Patel**. Six years old. The other near-sighted kid in the New Colony "But anyway, I'm afraid he'll try to look for us at the old base and won't find us. And he can't come down here, not with his sleigh, he'd put the reindeer in danger"

"Nah, never mind" Austin intervened before April or Michael could ask what was a sleigh or a reindeer "We're having fun anyway, even without Santa Claus. We just need to wait for Diego, Beatrice, Michel and Alan and then we'll have the best Christmas celebration _ever_!"

Maybe he was going to say something else, but he stopped, as everyone stood still and listened.

"That must be them!" Adrian said looking at the sky "It's a Samson!"

"It's not just that" Tom replied "I hear something else… just like… well… how can I say that… ding dang, ding dang"

"A jingle-jangle?" Newt asked

"Yeah! That! Jingle-jangle"

"That's strange. A ringing helicopter" Helena murmured "I don't think they have bells on choppers, that would be stuff for Santa Claus!"

"But Santa doesn't travel on helicopters!" Terrence replied at her

"He usually doesn't" Adrian commented "But what if he asked Diego a lift?"

Yeah, Tom and Adrian were definitely right. Now the helicopter was close enough to be seen clearly, there was an unmistakable ringing on it. Someone had a bell. And that someone was dressed in red and was quite chubby.

The helicopter stayed in midair and the passengers jumped down: Diego, Florence, Charles and Beatrice, who Gabriel had never seen in their human forms, Alan and Michel, without exopacks for the first time (as it seemed, Serge had given the new avatar team and their bodyguards samples of that virus two days before), and the man in red, who was holding a makeshift bell and a huge sack. Gabriel had never seen actually _him_, but he matched the description made in _The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe_.

"Santa Claus!" Terrence shouted, running to hug him. Santa let go the sack and lifted the kid up.

"Terry!" he said "Hello there! How are you?"

"I'm great, Mr. Santa, sir" Terrence stuttered "Have you read my letter?"

"I'm afraid I didn't get it" Santa quickly apologized "You moved recently, didn't you? I'm sorry, little one. But you'll see, I'll make amends"

He looked around at the people sitting in circles, chatting and laughing. He spotted one in particular.

"If that isn't Jake!" he shouted, waving at him "Long time, isn't it, Jake, since you wrote letters about… an electric train?"

Jake chuckled.

"Yeah, that train that never arrived" he commented

Adrian's jaw dropped.

"He's the real one" he murmured "How can he know that?" ***

"Ryan Annakin, aren't you?" Santa asked, looking at him "You wrote me for several years asking me to find your dad"

"Well, sir, it's Adrian…"

"I know. Adrian Lawrence, that's your full name" Santa said looking for something in the sack "For you"

He pulled out a wooden frame, with a picture of a man in camouflage outfit who might have been an adult Adrian, for the resemblance he bore. And even Adrian had noticed it. That man could not be anyone but Ryan Lorenz, Adrian's biological father.

"Thanks, Santa" Adrian said "Really…"

His lower lip had started shaking, in which Gabriel noticed a sign of Adrian being close to tears. As it seemed, Katherine was faster, because she rushed to her son and hugged him, saying that it was all right.

Meanwhile, Santa had restarted picking stuff from his sack. The next thing was a ball… no, a professional soccer ball… no, the 2162 World Cup soccer ball!

"And this is…" Santa announced looking around "For Thomas!" and he threw the ball to the kid concerned

"Hey… how did you know the old one blew up?" Tom asked catching it "Did you also know who blew it, by the way?"

Newt quickly turned white and looked at the wooden floor. He had done it… or, to be honest, he had kicked the ball on a razor palm tree during the last match in which Michel had acted as a referee. It had been an accident, but he still turned white and looked at his shoes when someone said the words "razor palm tree" or "the ball blew up".

"I bet I'll get coal again for this" he uttered

"It was a nacident!" Michael replied

"Yeah, it was an accident. The ball bounced away" Adrian confirmed "You won't get coal for this. Maybe for Gabriel's black eye, but not for this"

"No, he won't get coal this time" Santa said "I think there's something big, kid. Can you help me out?"

Newton rushed to Santa just as he took a guitar out of the sack.

"For you"

"This… for… me?" Newt asked, astonished

"Yeah. A little bird told me you've changed a lot this year. So… this is yours" Santa resolved, handing Newt the guitar "And… Laura? Where's Laura?"

"Here I am" Laura said, coming forward to get a keyboard

"Okay" Santa said as soon as Laura was sitting on the floor, trying to get some sounds out of her present "Now… Gabriel… I think this is yours"

Gabriel walked to Santa as he pulled out of the sack what seemed an old brown sheet. No, looking at it from a closer distance, it was…

"It's a Jedi Knight's outfit!" he shouted, raising the coat. A plastic cylinder and a pair of boots fell down

Gabriel quickly picked up everything and ran off in the nearest link shack to change. Those clothes didn't seem large as his usual ones: they just were fit for him. He was putting on the boots and clipping the toy lightsaber to his belt as he heard a voice.

It was no English… nor Na'vi. But he recognized the voices: Mum and Diego.

_/ Maybe you should ask David what's the best thing, before acting. Don't forget he loved you, and I just think he still does. And he loves your kids… I've seen him, he doesn't spend a moment too far from them, unless they are at school /_ Diego was saying ****

_/ I never denied this /_ Mum replied _/ It's just that… Gabriel and Helena… deserve more than this. I've grown up like them… with no toys, oversized clothes, and not even a decent house. I promised myself I was never going to let my children live what I lived. I didn't want them to live like refugees! /_

_/ Alicia… /_ Diego said in a calm tone _/ Look at them. They're not running from a war. Maybe you don't have a flat in Newbridge like you expected from David, but your children are living their life. They're having an education, they are in good health… if you let me say it, they're much more in health than kids on Earth, my son wasn't tanned and well-built at their age… and… they have friends, Alicia. A lot of friends. How could you tell them they're going to lose everything they have here? /_

As Gabriel entered the room Mum and Diego were in, Mum was surely going to answer something but she stopped.

"Gabriel!" she said "You really look good. Where did you get that?"

"Santa Claus" Gabriel explained raising his shoulders "But the boots are quite uncomfortable"

Diego chuckled.

"Why don't you go and play with your friends?" Mum asked "I heard Tom got a new ball"

Gabriel waved bye-bye and went out. He could not make his mother knew he knew, but the thing just made him worry. Stupid Mum's plans. But if Da had managed to make them fail once, he would have done it again.

* * *

_(Peter's POV)_

… _A dark room, human children locked up…_

… _Helena, crying on the floor, her face and arms covered in bruises…_

… _David, on the ground, in a pool of blood…_

_The nantang made his usual laughter sound, just like to tell him "you can't stop it, this is the future"_

_NO THAT WAS NOT THE FUTURE HE WAS GOING TO SAVE THEM_

_Well you should hurry then, Two-Names, hurry or your father's going to die_

_HE WON'T DIE NOT THIS TIME HE WAS GOING TO STOP WHATEVER WAS HARMING…_

He opened his eyes. There was dirt under his hands.

He was in the Tipani Hometree.

Helena wasn't hurt. The kids weren't captive. Da wasn't dying. Not _yet_.

"**Has it come?**" Tsahik Sanume asked

"Nantang" Peter spat out "**But that's not all. My family's in danger**"

"**In danger?**" his grandfather asked "**You mean… us… or Ta'veet?**"

"**David**" Peter answered "**Someone will kill him, and hurt his daughter. I can't let them do it… they're my father and my sister… I **_**won't**_** let them do it**"

"**Calm down, son. We'll do what we must. If Eywa has sent this message to you, she surely wants to warn us all. You said you consider that man and that child as family, don't you?**" his grandfather said

"**Yes**"

"**Then they are family**" Sanume intervened "**Ableryder, take the boy with you and fly to the Omaticaya. Warn them of the incoming danger**"

"**I'll come back soon with news**" Able said standing up and helping Peter on his feet "**And meanwhile, I think the young man will need a little time with his family**"

He patted Peter on his shoulder, like David once did.

"Let's go, Pete. Show me the way"

* * *

_*****__** If you ever read Harry Potter, you'd probably know Bellatrix is a well-known murderer in the saga, but I'm not sure whether you all know it's a star. Anyway, Charlie meant them both.**_

_**** Yeah, he's Max's son.**_

_***** As Jake and Scott have attended school together, Scott "should" be able to recognize Jake and to recall an episode from his past. Maybe Jake, at the elementary school, just complained in his class about an electric train he wanted and didn't get ;P  
**_

_****** Obviously, they're talking in Spanish. And Gabriel understands it.

* * *

**_

_**From next chapter: Forget or Forgive**_

_**"Gabriel?"**_

_**"Hm?"**_

_**"Gabriel!"**_

_**"Huh?"**_

_**"GABRIEL!"**_

_**"What's UP?"**_

_** "You were snoring like a viperwolf with distemper, that's what's up!"**_


	17. Forget or forgive

_**And that's one more exam passed (28/30 again!)… and the best thing about it is that I had a bet with my father about the result of it… and I won! Soon I'll get the Avatar Limited Edition watch ;P**_

_**Now I won't be having exams until September, so I think I'll be able to write more often (if I won't be playing Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 in the meantime, and my bothering, Facebook-dependent sister is still around). By the way, irayo to Snoofman21 for his review… (you know, I quite like your story, too). Unfortunately, in this chapter things will be starting going wrong. But…**_

* * *

Chapter 16

Forget or forgive

_(Gabriel's POV)_

"Gabriel?"

"Hm?"

"Gabriel!"

"Huh?"

"_GABRIEL!_"

"What's UP?"

"You were snoring like a viperwolf with distemper, that's what's up!" Helena said pulling away his blanket

"Well I was having a nice dream"

"You were going to sleep _all day long_ if I had not waken you up!"

Gabriel sat up and yawned. What did Helena want now?

"By the way, merry Christmas" he said her putting his glasses on

Helena, who just looked angry, calmed down.

"Yeah, merry Christmas bro" she said "Anyway, Mum and Da are looking for us"

"Mum and Da? They… both?" Gabriel asked, surprised. The last time he had seen Mum and Da together, Peter had taken him back to the old colony after he had run off.

"Yeah, Mum and Da, both, want to talk to us. I think they're up to something" Helena said "Oh and by the way, Diego and his Santa Claus companion left us some clothes, too. Proper clothes"

"Why, isn't this pro…?" Gabriel had started putting on his Jedi outfit when Helena grimaced

"_These_ are proper clothes" she said, tossing a T-shirt and a pair of heavy blue trousers at him

"You're boring, you know that?" Gabriel replied putting them on his bed and wearing the Jedi robes instead "You spend too much time with Mum"

"And you've spent too much time with Da, if he managed to turn you into what he was at our age"

Gabriel blew a raspberry and jumped down on the floor. Helena stuck her tongue out and went outside, after spelling out "shoes" pointing at a pair of trainers, just like Austin's, only smaller, next to the door.

"Won't" he spelled out before blowing another raspberry

"Mum's going to kill you if you don't" Helena replied

"Well, according to what Charlie said about divorces, I'm under Da's custody and Mum can't do a thing!"

"Mum and Da ain't divorced. They never married, so they can't divorce!"

"I heard ship captains can marry people. Maybe we could ask the captain of that shuttle that came down here to marry them, so they can divorce"

"_Gabriel_!"

"Listen, Helena, last night I heard Mum talking to that Professor Seneca man. I think she wants us to leave when the shuttle takes off. That's why she's insisting on us to be dressed properly. Helena, you're playing her game. Maybe she thinks that, if Da sees we're getting used to act like kids on Earth, he'll surrender. Now Peter isn't here… well as the saying goes… when Leo's away, the banshees will play!"

Helena turned pale and looked in Gabriel's eyes.

"You're not kidding, are you?"

"Never been more serious, Helena. Diego asked Mum to talk to Da, to try to find out what we want to do. Diego doesn't want us to get away from here, he's on our side, but Mum wants us to go. I mean, to go to Newbridge, to Grandma Joanne and Grandpa Leonard and Uncle William and Uncle Toby. Well they're our family and I love them, but I… we… have another family here, haven't we? Serge, Austin, and Jake and Thomas and Rafe'ekan and _Peter_… what if he comes back and doesn't find us?"

He turned to wait for Helena's answer, but she was on her bunk, putting on her old clothes and kicking away her sneakers.

"And does Da know anything?" she asked tossing away her new T-shirt

"Of course not! Diego and Mum were even talking in Spanish! I bet Mum just started the conversation in Spanish because only three people in the Colony can understand it… and she just didn't expect one of them to show up in the shack!"

He would have continued talking if his laptop computer, which he kept on most of the time he wasn't in the link bed, didn't show the beginning of a video call.

"That's Danny!" Helena said as Gabriel rushed to his desk and opened up the call

"Merry Christmas!" Daniel shouted from his room. Next to him, there was another kid Gabriel had never seen before, but looked familiar. The new kid looked quite surprised, too.

"Yeah, _feliz Navidad_, Danny. How's the whole lot?" Gabriel asked

"Everyone's okay" Daniel answered "By the way, Gabriel, this is another cousin of ours, Jimmie Martin. Jim, that's Gabriel Locke, one of Uncle David's three children"

Jimmie smiled.

"I do know who you are" Gabriel said to Jimmie "You're Charlie's brother, aren't you? He was around here last night, and I think he's still in a shack around here, he slept here at the Colony"

"You need a new pair of specs, Gabriel. He's in Ryan's bed!" Helena intervened "You know, Ryan started crying and spent the night with his mother"

"Well maybe I was falling asleep when Charlie came here" Gabriel replied "By the way, Jim… that's my sister Helena…"

"Can you wake him up?" Jimmie asked

"I'll do it" Helena said, rushing to Adrian's bunk "Charles?"

"Hm?"

"Charles!"

"Huh?"

"_CHARLES!_"

"Shut it up Floren… oh, sorry, Helena" Charlie said opening his eyes "Where am I?" he asked then, shaking his head

"In our shack" Gabriel intervened "Hey Charlie, come over here, there's someone who wants to talk to you"

"Who?"

"Surely not my cousin Dan, you stupid" Gabriel commented, as Charlie looked at Daniel and Jimmie on the screen

"Who are you?" Charlie asked Daniel

"Danny. I'm Jimmie's cousin"

"Oh, are you? So you're mine too. Nice to meet you, I'm Charles. Where are you at the moment?"

"At Grandpa Leonard's house. That's where Jimmie's stayin'… we were trying his new computer… you know, Grandpa has a room set up for him, and he's bought him everything… clothes, schoolbooks, and a computer… Marianne at the beginning thought he was Gabriel, they quite look like each other… poor Marianne, she didn't like being contradicted!"

"Well I didn't like being mistaken!" Jimmie commented "And anyway, Gabriel, it's not true I look like you. You've got grey eyes… and what about those pimples?"

"Check up your laptop, cousin, that's freckles, what you see!"

"Where did you get that scar?" Gabriel asked pointing at Jimmie's scar

"Broken glass. And yours? That one next to your eye"

"Broken _glasses_" Gabriel answered laughing "One year ago"

"I heard only the Marines used to compare tattoos, and anyway you're comparing scratches" Charlie intervened "Off you go, kids. Helena, didn't you say your parents are looking for you?"

"Weren't you sleeping like a banshee with distemper?" Gabriel commented

"Banshees don't get distemper"

"Oh yeah, and how do you know it? You study plants, not animals!" Jimmie said

Charlie rolled his eyes and murmured something like "two against one is not fair", then Daniel announced he had to end the call because Grandpa Leonard wanted him to lend a helping hand.

Charlie waved bye-bye and closed up the window. Then he hid his face in his hands and cried. Or, as Gabriel thought, tried to hide his tears.

"I didn't know he was with..." he stuttered "He's out… he's _out_…"

"So now you don't have to raise the money anymore" Gabriel commented "You can come back to be a scoutmaster. You can restart a new life!"

Charlie raised his head and grinned, then patted heavily Gabriel on his back.

"I just think this is a family mark" Gabriel protested rubbing the hit spot "Don't do it again or I'll poke you with Newton's stilts!"

* * *

_(David's POV)_

"I wonder where's Helena. I asked her to come with Gabriel" Alicia commented

"She must be having some trouble with Charlie" David said leaning against the branch of a tree, not caring at all if his polo T-shirt got dirty "You know, Charlie's brother, James… well I asked Willy to find him and take him to my father's"

"And Charlie is in the children's shack?"

"It was the only place he could find. Adrian slept with his mother last night"

He stayed silent for a while, then he rubbed a knot in the wood with a hand.

"I just hope Peter comes back soon" he commented "I start missing him. Well I know sometimes is far too polite, and getting him out of his hammock can be a real battle, but… well I…"

"You see him?" Alicia said mimicking the ditto marks

"That's the word!" David cried out raising his hand for Alicia to give him five

Alicia stayed still and looked at the ground.

"I expected that" she said "Don't you miss your family? Your _real _family, I mean"

"I miss them like you miss yours" David said grinning "But we're here for a reason. I know it's hard, and for us it's been particularly hard. I haven't forgotten one of our children never saw the light because of Quaritch's attempt to kill Jake"

It had been a peculiar matter, in all those years. Neither Gabriel nor Helena knew that story, but, during the battle for Pandora, the day Jake had escaped and Grace had died, there had been another innocent victim.

Alicia had been in the room in which Quaritch was when he had slammed the air lock open, allowing the toxic air to enter the room. And she was already two months pregnant, she would have given birth to a baby boy.

The air had killed the tiny life she carried.

When David had found it out, some days later, he had run in his avatar to the clearing in which Quaritch's corpse still laid and had angrily kicked it until many of his bones were broken. Only Norm had been able to stop him before the colonel's body turned into what would have seemed the remains of a broken piñata.

And only the appearance of Peter, about an hour later, had given him the strength to keep on living.

"He didn't die because of Quaritch, not entirely. There could _always_ have been an accident"

"Just like on Earth. I know it, Alicia, my mother has asthma. When she had me, my sister and my brothers, she could not even get out of our house… and even I didn't go out until I was two and my sister decided it was time for me to learn to fly"

"Learn to _fly_?"

"One of her idioms. She just got me and took me down to the nearest playground. My father hit the roof when he found out I wasn't home… but that was the proof the world wasn't a danger for me. From that day, I always _did_ try to learn to fly. At the primary school, my Science teacher told me men can't fly, so I decided to study Physics to demonstrate him he was wrong. Well, Physics didn't make me fly, but… here I am"

"You never told me that story"

"Maybe because you were always too worried to listen"

"I didn't… I don't want to lose my children… or to let them have a difficult life"

"Are they living a difficult life?"

"David, open your eyes! We're in the most hostile environment known to man…"

"Maybe it was twelve years ago, when we were the aliens from outerspace. Now things are different… have you noticed it? Plants don't react badly anymore to us, even when we aren't in our avatars. I think they got the flesh mark, but it's supposed to be a matter for Norm. And the children… well they just seem to be used to all this. Norm once, talking to Gabriel, used a term to describe all of this… he said _Eywa's stepchildren_. They aren't like we were, Alicia. I mean, just look at Gabriel and Helena… were you as tall as Helena is now, when you were eleven? Could you cross a forest without being detected? Could you beat boys up? I bet you couldn't, but Helena _can_"

Alicia was going to reply when a ball hit her on the head.

"Sorry!" a dark-haired and barefoot ten-years-old, Sora Rickman, shouted. "Sorry" was just like his own signature: most of the kids just called him Sorry because he apologized too often.

"Sora, it was Ayumu… you shouldn't apologize for him…" seven-years-old Megumi reached her brother, while her four-years-old little brother ran after her

"Maybe you just should go somewhere you won't harm anyone" David said throwing the ball back to Sora "And don't say sorry for your brother. He must learn to do it on his own"

As Sora and his siblings ran to the trapdoor to play somewhere safe, David grinned and pointed at Ayumu.

"Have you seen? A four-years-old kid who kicks a ball that strong? Nope. Never seen that on Earth"

Alicia grinned, but turned serious again.

"Yesterday I talked to Diego. He said me to ask you what's the best thing to do. I think I know your opinion now… mine surely won't change easily but…"

"But…?"

"I'll do the best thing for our children" Alicia resolved "We can't decide without involving them, not now they're so grown up. And… David… I'm sick and tired of playing the enemy with you"

"What… play the enemy?"

"Yeah… I've been really childish with you. I just hoped you missed me and Helena too much and you would eventually surrender. But I only know it's been really stupid of mine. I just let the four of us suffer… I've seen Gabriel, and he was far happier when we were the four of us…"

"_Five_ of us" David corrected her

"No, now we're really five. Now the kids know each other well"

David could not help but grin. So Alicia didn't hate Peter!

"That situation… the twins here and Peter there… well I didn't like it. If he really is your stepson, why couldn't he stay around the colony a little more?" Alicia then commented

"Well, he preferred staying with his friends" David answered grinning "Well he loves me like just a son could, but he's growing up. Toby, at his age, was always around the town with his motorbike, and my parents just complained because they wanted him to help a little more the family… you know, stuff like pick me and Willy up, or help my father with some chores… I should really be happy Peter always behaved well"

"David, listen…?"

"Yes?"

"Can we… try to… well, start again?" Alicia asked

"Well…" David hummed "Do, or do not. There is no try"

Alicia chuckled.

"I didn't hear that from you since ages!" she commented "Anyway… would you do it?"

David closed his eyes and laid a hand on his chin. Hard matter. For three years, they had pretended they didn't know each other, apart from that fateful day in which Gabriel had run. Three fricking long years. Three years in which David had spent his time sharing his attention with his two sons, hunting with the clan, flying his banshee, and watching the stars.

Three years in which he had tried to forget. No, three years in which he had not forgotten. He had wanted to forget, but Gabriel's very face had always reminded him those nine years had actually existed.

_What should I answer? Does she really wants just to be a family again?_

He remembered his father's words. _Always give a second chance, don't forget, but forgive._

Forgive.

In three years, his motto had been the wrong one. "Forgetting" had been the wrong thing. He had forgotten, or at least tried to, but he had not forgiven.

Just like Tyler. He had nearly forgotten him, but he had never forgiven him for what he had done to him and to his family.

And now Tyler was on Pandora, probably to take revenge.

They didn't need another Tyler, as they had not needed another Newton.

And by the way… he still loved Alicia. He still Saw her.

David nodded.

"What were you talking about?" Gabriel said getting out of the shack. He still wore the Jedi outfit, while Helena was wearing her old clothes.

"And what's that _stare_?" Helena added

"I think they'll still need the captain" Gabriel commented chuckling. He looked in his sister's eyes and blinked.

"Gabriel… Helena… we need to talk" Alicia said standing up and getting close to them "Can we go… somewhere?"

"I know a place!" Gabriel intervened "Follow me, let's go!"

* * *

_(Able's POV)_

That was a part of the forest Able had never seen before, but Peter seemed to be at ease, moving in it.

"I think we're almost there" he murmured "Usually, there's always a group of kids playing near a pond, and, from the smell, we're close. Around here, there's another clearing. That's where I met my brother, one year ago"

Peter was quite right: the air smelled damp, and the noise in the air could not correspond but a group of happily playing kids.

"Here we are" Peter said, grinning, as he moved a branch to show the shore of a pond, with a group of kids playing what seemed punchball.

"Who are your siblings?" Able asked Peter

"I can't see them. I bet they're somewhere with Da, but I can't say it. I mean, there are their friends… that tall boy over there, for example, he's called Austin, and the girl next to him is Laura, and that kid over there, with the eyes half covered by hair, that's Adrian, or Ryan, I never remember his name"

Able grinned. He had never seen such a scene. Human and Na'vi kids playing together… that was a scene to be pictured and shown on every newspaper on Earth.

"I can't see Thomas, neither" Peter was murmuring "Maybe he's with his father, practicing archery as usual"

"Who's Thomas?"

"He's the olo'eyktan's eldest. He's got Gabriel's age"

As they were talking, one of the Na'vi kids, who Peter identified as Raltawyu, hit the ball so strong it got lost in the greenery. After some of the kids shouting "Home run!" and celebrating the Na'vi boy for his great launch, Adrian vanished in the trees to fetch the ball back.

He didn't reappear, but there was an explosion.

Able had been a soldier, and knew what was that. A gun. Unequivocally a gun.

He ran out of the bush, followed by Peter. A man had entered the clearing, holding Adrian with a hand and a revolver with another.

"Not any trick, or the brat dies" he said. He didn't seem a soldier, but he wore an exopack, and none of the human kids did.

"What's going on?" another voice shouted. Able recognized David, then the computer tech Alicia Nevares, and two preteens which probably were their children, coming out from another path.

"So we meet again… _Davey_" the man in exopack snarled

"That boy's none of your business, Tyler" David replied "Let him go"

"Who's holding the gun, now, nerd?" the Tyler man asked "Let's see… maybe… me?"

A group of soldiers came out of the forest, and what seemed a SUV cut down some trees and got in the clearing.

"Tell me you're not doing it, Ty" David said stepping forward "You can't let a children's quarrel ruin a whole family… Tyler… it's a matter between you and me, you can't… Tyler, for heaven's sake, STOP IT!"

"I said you, nerd, I'm holding the gun"

He pointed the gun forward, right on David. Then he started pulling the trigger… and moved his hand slightly.

David didn't fall. Alicia did.

Then, Tyler pulled the trigger again. This time Peter moved. A rock hit Tyler's hand, making him drop the gun.

Not before David fell on the ground.

Another soldier caught one of the girls, David's daughter, and pointed a gun at her head, as Adrian ran. As another soldier, a black-skinned veteran, was going to catch the boy, Peter intercepted him and snarled.

"You try to touch him, and you're dead" he said, taking out his bow

The soldier stepped backwards. He didn't seem too sure.

"Stay calm right here, you fucking bastard!" Able said catching his arms and blocking them behind his back. He didn't struggle a lot. _Thank Eywa_.

Another boy, Austin, as it seemed, bit the hand of the soldier who was trying to capture him and stuck his elbow in the soldier's ribs. The fact he was so big was an advantage: he was breaking free and running to free David's daughter from the soldier who had got her, but the man hit him with his rifle butt. One time. Two. Three. Able could hear the noise of something breaking.

Austin was on the ground.

Before Able could run and shoot down the soldiers, the vehicle left.

The Na'vi kids had escaped, but the humans had been captured, and were all in that vehicle.

All but three.

Adrian was hiding in a bush, shaking and crying. Austin was on the ground, holding his right arm. The other kid was knelt next to his parents, shaking them, hoping to see them move.

One of the Na'vi kids, that Raltawyu, ran back in the clearing: an elder was behind him.

"**Peter… you're back**" the elder just said

"**I see you, Rafe'ekan**" Peter answered. It would have been a normal conversation if it had not been for Peter's desperate voice

"**We got to take the injured to a healer… quickly**" Rafe'ekan commented as he ducked near the kid "**David's been lucky. The Sky People weapon hit just his shoulder. He probably fainted for the pain**"

Peter knelt and started crying. The other kid, presumably Gabriel, now Able thought about it, stood up and hugged him.

Able thought it was time to do something useful, so he tied the veteran's wrists, got close to Austin and inspected his arm. It seemed broken, but he could not tell too much about it.

"Can you stand?" he asked him

Austin nodded, then took his hand with his left and stood.

"They got Helena…" he murmured "They got Helena…"

"It's okay. We'll get her back. Now you just need some time to heal. By the way, I'm Able. Able Ryder"

Austin grimaced and nodded, then he carefully walked to Rafe'ekan.

One more left. Adrian. Still under the bush.

"Adrian, it's ok, you can come out" Able said

"NO!" the kid shouted

"Why not? Don't you want to go back to your parents? They will be worried, they will want to know you're all right…"

Adrian started sobbing more loudly. There was surely a problem, and a big one too, but that was not the time to let the kid cry.

"Okay, I'll take you home" Able resolved taking the boy out of the bush and lifting him up. The kid stopped crying and laid his head on Able's shoulder. He seemed to have calmed down. Or maybe he had fallen asleep.

* * *

_(Tom's POV)_

"But what happened?"

"I told you Michael _I don't know_" Tom shouted "Dad didn't even allow me to go and look for Gabriel!"

Michael fumed and leant against the trunk of the tree, then crossed his arms. Yeah, there were definitely times in which he could stay calm, but they were times like that. Or to say it better, he could stay calm only when everyone wasn't.

Bed time had passed since a long time, but neither Mum nor Dad had already arrived. And that made Tom worry. And no kid had been allowed out of Hometree. And that made Tom worry even more.

Since he had come back from his archery practice Dad had left him alone with Michael, and he had _allowed_ him to keep bow and arrows instead of putting the arrows somewhere he couldn't find them.

"**Hey? Tom?**" a voice from somewhere under him uttered

"**Raltawyu? What's going on?**"

"**The Sky People attacked**" Raltawyu said "**And… as far as I've seen… I think someone died**"

"What's going on?" Michael asked

"Fingers in your ears, little bro, it's not a thing you'd like to hear"

He climbed down until he didn't find his classmate, who looked very, really worried.

"**They got some of the kids**" Raltawyu explained "**David tried to stop them, but the man who was leading them shot down him and his mate**"

"**David… no…**"

He could not be dead… not Gabriel's parents… damn, he would have never liked to be in his best friend's shoes… not now… David… dead… no, that could not be…

"**He's still alive, but his mate died on the spot. Oh, and by the way, Peter's back. He **_**saved**_** David: as the leader of the Sky People, Tyler, I think he's called, was aiming, he threw a stone at his hand and made him… well, nearly miss. And there's a strange man with him, he seems a dreamwalker but he's dressed as a Tipani. He calls himself Ableryder**"

"**Able Ryder! Gabriel told me about him! He was a Sky People warrior before joining the Tipani clan!**"

"**Yeah, Gabriel. He's one of the few who escaped**"

"**Who's been caught?**"

"**Uhmm… Helena. And Laura. And Andreas and Raffaela. And Walter, and Terrence, and Callie, and Willis, and Janus and…**"

"**Austin and Adrian?**"

"**They're here. In the bottom rooms. Austin has a broken arm, and Adrian won't eat. And Gabriel's here with them, along with all the other kids who weren't at the pond**"

"**Gabriel is here!**"

"Srane"

"**I'm going down. If someone of the adults comes around, just shout **"Starkiller"**… I'll understand**"

He ran down the spiral everyone used to go up and down until he didn't get to the ground floor. Something like ten or twelve human kids were sitting in a circle. Gabriel and Austin were sitting close to each other, while Adrian was out of the circle, curled up with his head on his knees. Austin had an arm strapped to a splint.

Almost everyone seemed to ignore him. They were too shaken to greet, as it seemed.

"Um… I see you all" he said "I'm sorry. Really"

Gabriel stood up, came near him and faked a smile.

"Don't worry, _amigo_. I'm glad to see you"

Tom didn't reply about being called names, not this time. Gabriel had just lost his mother, and maybe sister too, and it was no time to reply about an unwanted nickname.

"How's your father? Is he better?" he asked, sitting down

"I don't know. Serge and Annemarie are checking on him, by the way. The first thing they worried about was that he didn't get worse. A healer cared about Austin"

"What happened to him?"

"He managed to break free, and tried to help Helena. A soldier poked him with the rifle butt"

"But that's a…" Tom snarled "I mean, who could harm a kid?"

"Sky People, maybe?" Gabriel asked raising his shoulders "Diego had said it. He said we were somehow in danger, but no one expected that… Da knew the man who shot him, he knew him…"

"Tyler?"

"Yeah, Tyler. He never talked me about him, but they surely weren't best buddies… maybe…"

"_Starkiller!_" Raltawyu's voice shouted

"Hide!" Tom said Gabriel, hiding in a sort of hole in the wood

A human woman was descending the spiral. She looked around. Tom crossed his fingers when she was on the point of seeing them. Then she looked at Adrian.

"She's Katherine. Adrian's mother" Gabriel murmured as she put her hands on her child's shoulders.

"Adrian. What's wrong, sweetheart?" she was asking

"Me… I… the soldiers. They said me I'm a… a clone" the kid said before restarting crying

Katherine stayed silent. Then she ran a hand in Adrian's hair and hugged him.

"Adrian… if you're living, here, now, there's a reason. And the reason is that _I wanted you to live_. I carried you for nine months, and then I gave birth, and believe me, it was painful. I woke up in the middle of the night when you cried. I fought you to make you eat, or sleep. I watched you standing up for the first time, I heard you calling me "mummy", I helped you out when you tried to write your name… who cares who you are? Who cares who do you look like? Adrian, look at me. Am I your mother… or not?"

Adrian looked up and nodded.

"So don't give a damn about what did they say you. Live your life. Here, you won't be different from any other kid of your age. And eat something, you'll get ill if you don't. Do I have to call upon those airplanes that made you open your mouth?"

"Mummy, please, not in front of everyone!"

"Okay. So get this and _eat it all_" she resolved placing a packet of leaves in Adrian's hands and leaving

"Phew!" Tom said getting out of the hole as Adrian opened the packet and started eating slowly "By the way, Adrian, what's an airplane?"

"An airplane?" Adrian answered "Dunno. But when I was a toddler my mummy always told me there was an airplane landing when I didn't want to eat something"

He wouldn't have wanted to ask just that question, but, whatever a "clone" was, maybe it wasn't tactful at all asking what a clone was. Adrian just had seemed desperate when he had found it out.

"Anyway…" he stepped to the center of the circle "we can't let that Tyler man take away our brothers and our sisters" he said to the whole lot "The man who can take anything from here… from our home… and pay nothing for that… has still to be born, and maybe will never see the light! We'll get back our family, and if we can't, we'll make them see what we can do, so they can remember it until they won't go to Gaia! We'll make them regret the day in which they decided to lay their hands on our family!"

* * *

_**One more chapter out (and one of the hardest too!)**_

_**As I promised, I'll link my drawing in one of the next chapters (I haven't done coloring it yet)**_

_**We're getting close to the end: four more chapters and it's done!**_

* * *

_**From next chapter: "Helena and the Trojan Newt"**_

"_**Oh, man… I caught the boss!"**_

"_**He's not a bad guy…maybe if we interrogate him we can make him squeal"**_

"_**What makes you think he'll tell RDA's plan to the Na'vi?"**_

"_**Nothing. But he'll surely talk to a cop"**_


	18. Helena and the Trojan Newt

_**Phew. This story is coming at the close, and I still have to finish the drawing…**_

_**Anyway, it's irayo time again, so this time thanks to Bigoldfrog (though I haven't forgotten all the people who read and like this story… don't worry I'll write more!)

* * *

**_

Chapter 17

Helena and the Trojan Newt

_(Jake's POV)_

Another assembly had begun. David's empty place had been taken, temporarily, by Able, while Peter had earned a place among the young hunters.

"**Here you are, you stone-head!**" Sel'cral said slapping him playfully on the neck

"**Sel'cral, please… it's not the time and place for this**" Peter said sitting down

"**So, what's the situation?**" Ha'sila asked. She noticed almost immediately the circle now included the humans Michel and Alan, and the avatar drivers Diego, Florence, Beatrice and Charles, the latter being the only one in "decent" clothes.

"**The Sky People, led by a man called Tyler, kidnapped some of the human children**" Peter intervened "**Then Tyler killed Alicia and seriously injured David**"

"**We got one of the soldiers**" Able continued "**A black man in his late forties. He's in one of the huts at the moment**"

"You mean you got _Colonel Lynch_?" Alan asked after Charlie had translated

"Oh, man… I caught the boss!" Able said faking embarrass

"He's not a bad guy" Alan intervened "Maybe if we interrogate him we can make him squeal"

"What makes you think he'll tell RDA's plan to the Na'vi?"

"Nothing. But he'll surely talk to a cop" Alan said smirking and pulling out an FBI badge "Old Michel and I ain't no Marines. We're FBI agents, man. Here to get Selfridge and kick his ass into a jail. If Lynch doesn't want to end up in the clink for attempted kidnapping, he'll have to cooperate"

"I'll go and get him" Charlie said "Alan, come with me. Maybe if he sees you he won't fight off"

* * *

_(Gabriel's POV)_

"So, what do you think we should do?" Gabriel asked Tom

"Last night you told us that story about that girl, Helen, who was kidnapped, and there was that long war and that warrior, Ulysses, who used that wooden horse to enter the enemy village. We could do something like that" Tom said

"Yeah, but they won't take in anything they don't really want" Gabriel said "Humans ain't like they were thousands of years ago, they don't believe in these things"

"I know what we could smuggle inside" Newt intervened.

That was strange. Newton wasn't particularly smart, at least not usually. Maybe the need to save his sister had multiplied his neurons. Maybe. Or maybe it was a fake alarm.

"What?" Adrian asked

"Well if they kidnapped kids, maybe they want to get everyone of us" Newton said "I'll go to them and pretend to be still the asshole I was until one month ago"

"Wow, you officially admitted you were an asshole" Gabriel commented

"Yeah, but there's still the matter of about how do we defeat them" Austin said standing up "I mean, they've got weapons! Maybe if they were unarmed we could have a chance, but as the situation is now, they could easily beat one of us with a sneeze"

"You wouldn't have broken your arm if you had been in your avatar!" Newt replied

"Yeah, but, news of the last minute, who _doesn't _have an avatar?" Austin said "And who, even if he had it, _couldn't_ use it or all the cover would blow?"

"My father has a gun in his duffel bag. I could get it" Newt murmured hitting his chin with a finger

"And it's not true we haven't weapons. I've got my bow" Tom intervened "And I could easily find something like a sword or a staff, I know where…"

"Starkiller, Tom! STARKILLER!" Raltawyu's voice shouted for the second time

Tom ran to the hole to hide, but he wasn't fast enough for Charlie and Alan to see him.

"What were you talking about?" Charlie asked smirking

"Helena and a Trojan Newt" Gabriel replied with the same smirk "We just need to find a proper weapon to make the humans not care about us"

Charlie looked interested.

"Physical strength is to exclude, you're just kids" he said "But most of the men in there are dumb grunts, you could beat them all in wit. You could have a chance if you make them believe an air lock is broken and Pandoran air is getting inside the shacks"

"And how can we?"

"Mercaptans" Charlie said

"Merca-what?" Adrian asked

"Mer-ca-ptans" Charlie spelled out "Damn stinky stuff. No one of the soldiers really smelled Pandoran air, but the stench will smother them. And if we put some irritating gas in there, too, they will really think there's a problem with air locks and they will panic!"

"So, in brief, I should just activate something like… a stink bomb" Newt said

"Yeah, that's the point, kid"

"Charles? Will you please come here?" Alan's voice shouted "I think I need a hand with the Colonel"

"The Colonel?" Tom asked "You got their Colonel?"

"Oh yeah, kid" Alan said getting in the room "Now, Charlie, come along here or I swear I'll tie your tail to the nearest thanathor when you're sleeping!"

* * *

_(__Jake's POV)_

Alan came in the middle of the circle with Lynch and untied his hands, but he didn't move until Sel'cral came there drawing out a knife.

"Just one bad move and you're dead" Sel'cral snarled pointing the knife at Lynch's throat

"What's going on, Alan?" Lynch asked

"FBI" Michel said pulling out his badge "You're charged of attempted kidnapping"

"_FBI_?" Lynch asked "Karloff, for heaven's sake, you're an _artificer…_"

"I was" Michel said "Now, you tell me, what's Selfridge's plan?"

Lynch would have surely turned white if he could have done it. But he just stared at Michel and swallowed.

"He knows you'll gather an attacking squad to get back the kids" he said "So… that Hudson man has set a psychological weapon. Most of the RDA personnel is somehow related to you. The Martins are David Locke's nephew and niece…"

"News of the last minute, we do know" Charlie commented

"Cooper, the cook, is…"

"An old classmate of mine" Jake intervened "He was there last night, he and Merrill, the pilot, went away before the kids went to bed"

"Zach Merrill… he's Lynn Merrill's cousin!"

The avatar driver Lynn, whose son, Janus Potter, had been kidnapped, raised her head.

"I didn't recognize him…" she said

"And I bet he didn't recognize you!" Lynch said "That's the plan! They'll defend the base, attacking you! Most of them surely won't even recognize you! I mean… you cannot attack someone who's been close to you… can you? Would you ever attack a friend?"

"That's why Da didn't defend himself!" Peter said "He knew that Tyler… maybe he thought they could…"

"The boy's right" Lynch said looking at Peter

"Well, but I think the plan has a flaw" Charlie intervened "Beatrice and I recognized David. If someone else recognizes a relative, or an old friend… well, who do you think they'll get the weapons against? Their friends… or the stupid dumbass who recruited them for that stupid battle?"

"Well, that's a possibility" Serge said "But I don't think they'll believe us so easily if we say it to them. We're too… well, involved… we're just _outlaws_"

"Just like good old Robin Hood" Charlie commented "But Robin Hood has become a legend. And… Jake, you're becoming a legend, too. I know it cause my brother was born in 2154. In his class, you could count at least two boys called Jacob, and my brother's very _middle_ name is David. In the town I was born in everyone knew each other, so I heard stories about two little girls called Grace and Trudy, about the kid of the foster family's landlord, whose name is Jacob Stephen, about the fact that once another kid tried to steal my brother's sweater because there was written "avatar program" on it… stuff like that. We don't have to fight this battle. We have to move it"

The audience looked puzzled, but Jake knew what Charlie was talking about, or at least he had understood something. Maybe the young scientist was talking about the impact a mass protest could have had on RDA.

"I know!" Alan said, standing up "AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL! If they just knew RDA kidnapped, they'd bug on the United Nations. The United Nations would bug on RDA…"

"And it would be too much time, thank you Al" Michel replied

"Well, it's one thing we could do anyway" Jake said "Anything would do. Alan, if you want to, run to the shacks and email Amnesty, we could need their help anyway. Another thing we could do is call anyone we left on Earth, they could spread the alarm and being trusted better than us. As I heard, David's nephew, Alfred, got even…"

"No, Jake, let's let David out of this" Annemarie intervened "I wouldn't want to say anything about this, especially now Gabriel has already lost his mother, but… if this thing won't end soon… I think he won't live to see New Year's Day"

As Annemarie spoke, Peter uttered "New Year's Day…?" and froze.

Maybe to fix up what she had done, Annemarie got close to Peter and told him "I'm sorry. I did everything I could. And there's still hope, you won't lose your father again"

_(Gabriel's POV)_

"That's the place, Newt" Tom said pointing at the shacks.

They were in four: Gabriel and Austin were driving their avatars, and were ready to intervene in case anything went wrong. Tom had found a sword for Gabriel among the weapons of the clan ("This will surely work better than that plastic toy of yours"), Austin had the pockets of his pants full of rocks (of which most, Gabriel was quite sure, were pieces of unobtanium), and Newt had stolen one of his father's weapons. Tom had his own bow, even if his arrows weren't poisoned. Well, better like that, they only had to defend the other kids.

That very morning, Michel and Alan had come back to the RDA camp to act, who knew how. Tom had decided to leave _before_ them, because of Michel's keen hearing, so there they were, hidden in a bush.

Newt had never been so pale, Tom had even said he was turning green. He had his head covered by an army cap and was wearing his usual taken in uniform, and his rucksack was full with Charlie's stink bombs… and obviously he had his gun.

Newton Higgins had really changed, since that day in November when they had left Hell's Gate. He had always been short, now he was even getting tall, and his pot belly was getting harder and harder to notice. His legs were getting muscular after hours on stilts. Gabriel had already seen that transformation, on himself, but in his case it had not been so evident as he, having always been quite thin, had not grown skinny.

_Damn it… we've changed, really changed. I wouldn't recognize myself, if I saw what I'm now one year ago. I would never have said Newt would have been my friend… or heroes would have turned out to be normal people…_

"Wait!" Austin uttered "What's Selfridge doing outside the shacks?"

Gabriel looked in the direction his friend was pointing at: Selfridge had gotten out of one of the mobile units the camp was composed of and was running to the shuttle. Something was happening.

* * *

_(__- Some minutes before - Parker's POV)_

"Lynch? Lynch! Where's that damn colonel?"

Why the men he needed were never there when he asked for them? First, the Avatar Team and bodyguards were gone. Then, a whole party of soldiers. And now they had come back, Lynch had gone.

"Hey? You, private! Cody? Where's the Colonel?" he asked to one of the soldiers, a young grunt with bruises on his legs. Who knew how he had got them. He was also rubbing a point in his ribs. What had happened?

"The Colonel…" panted the soldier "A Na'vi… got him… we escaped in time"

"You _what_?"

"Hudson said they were your orders… get the kids… I got the biggest one, he wriggled like an eel, he even ran away, and I think he broke me a rib… damn it…"

"I didn't ask Hudson to get the kids" Parker replied

Cody's jaw dropped.

"So why did he let us nearly be killed to get those kids? Mr. Selfridge, they ain't normal. They ain't _at all_. Hudson had to sedate them to put them all in the vehicle, they were tearing two other grunts to pieces… and there were two Na'vi, a teen and an adult. The adult got Lynch"

"Is Hudson _crazy_?" Parker shouted. There had never been such an insubordination, not even with Falco or Quaritch. And abducting a kid was a _crime._ And what if the kids had been sedated too heavily? He didn't need another charge, not after they seemed to be accusing him to be involved in Tom Sully's murder.

"He also got a gun" Cody added "There were two human adults, I think he shot them dead"

_Double trouble, Parker._

"Cody, where's Hudson now?"

"He said he was going to put the children somewhere they could be safe"

"And you let him alone with the kids? Reason, Cody, he's killed two people!" Parker spat out, going away. Maybe he knew where to look for Hudson. The shuttle.

He quickly put an exopack on and ran outside, until he reached the Valkyrie and ran in the inner rooms, throwing the breathing device on the floor.

"Hudson!" he shouted, as the man was holding an eleven-years-old girl's T-shirt. Parker had already seen that face, apart from the ginger hair and freckles. A woman in his old office at Hell's Gate, who usually took care of the computers.

_Alicia__ Nevares. She's Alicia's daughter._

_And I have no doubt about who's the father, as there was only one ginger-haired man left here…_

"Leave her alone!" he said Hudson "The plans weren't these"

As he spoke, behind a door, something knocked. Obviously, the other kids.

"You heard Diego" Hudson said letting the girl fall on the ground "_They'd never leave this place if we asked them to_. Do you want to save Earth or not?"

Suddenly, Parker felt a stupid. That Tyler man had made him believe to everything he had said. Those kids surely didn't give a damn about Earth… and Tyler just wanted to… well, he didn't exactly want to know it, but he surely had some issues with David Locke. He just had _used_ him for his revenge… he had _used_ RDA, the Avatar Program, Earth itself…

Tyler had never had the key, but someone… someone who had spread over all the world pages and pages of tests to look for the smartest kids on Earth, well, that someone had had it. Before a man with a gun silenced her.

"I want to, but you _don't_" he replied "Grace had the key. I should have listened to her when I had the chance. Grace, Jake, Norman, Max, Serge, Thomas… all those people had the key and I didn't want to take it… and I've been so stupid to take you, who don't give a damn about our planet… _here_. I've already made a mistake with Quaritch, Hudson. I won't do the same with you. Let the kids go. Now!"

"Oh, yeah? And why should I?" Hudson said, taking out a gun. _Damn it_. Cody was right, that man had a weapon.

"Because people would ask you where I am if you shoot me" Parker bravely answered. He knew there was nothing to be afraid of: Hudson just couldn't shoot him, not the chief, whose absence would have been immediately noticed.

"I'm not going to shoot you" Hudson replied pointing the gun at the girl's temple

"You won't dare!" Parker shouted

"I'm doing it, Selfridge. This ginger's daddy just put a cap on my career, when I was twelve. Now I'm getting the damages paid"

There was a bang. Then, Hudson dropped the gun. There was no blood, except on his arm. The girl was unharmed.

"FBI! Freeze!" a voice behind Parker shouted. He recognized Karloff, Jake Sully's old friend. He had suspected there was something fishy about him, but the FBI… anyway, Parker couldn't help feeling glad about the fact _he wasn't alone_.

The kids behind the door made noise again. Maybe they had realized someone was going to help them.

"What's up, Selfy? Have you brought company?" Hudson asked picking up the gun again. The bullet surely had just grazed his arm.

He pointed the gun again at the girl's head.

"Not a step forward, _cop_, or the girl is dead"

Karloff, who was rushing forward, suddenly stopped and lowered his weapon.

"Let Helena go, you bastard" he snarled

"Um… maybe. When I'm far away from here" Hudson said, walking to the ramp and outside, holding Helena's arm. She didn't seem to be reacting… maybe she was still sedated.

As he got on a Swan and started the engine, Karloff tried to shoot him, just like in the police movies Parker had seen as a kid, but, just like in the movies, the vehicle didn't stop. Hudson was gone.

* * *

_(Tom's POV)_

"Damn it, he's running!" Tom shouted jumping out of the bush. He was going to start a rush when something seized his loincloth and stopped him.

"Stop it, Tom. There's Michel around" Gabriel said "And I think he has seen us"

As Gabriel was saying, now that Tyler man had gone, Selfridge and Michel were running to them.

"What – the – hell – are – you – doing – here?" Michel spelled out getting close to them "It's not a treasure hunt, you know?"

"It's my _sister_, that man's got!" Gabriel replied stepping forward

As Selfridge looked at them with a puzzled face, Michel uttered "avatar driver". He seemed to understand it.

"Aren't you his _friend_?" Tom asked Selfridge pointing at the path in which Tyler had just gone

"In your dreams, maybe… Sully, isn't it?"

"It's _Thomas_ for you"

"That's not the time and place for this!" Michel said "First, the other kids, where are they? And second, Selfridge, any ideas of where Hudson could have gone?"

"The other kids, I think they're in the Valkyrie" Selfridge said "And I think the priority would be to lead them back home"

"Michel, what is he saying?" Tom asked grimacing

"He seems to be a friend" Michel said raising his shoulders

"And what if he's going to lock us up?"

"Thomas! Don't forget Gabriel and Austin can come and go as they want!"

"Oh, yeah, that's right"

Selfridge just chuckled. He seemed… what could he say? Amused? Definitely.

"Come on, follow me" he said, walking to the shuttle. He got into the main room (Tom noticed there was some blood on the floor and a bullet hole in a wall) and pressed his finger against a square near a door. The door slid open.

"How did…?" Tom asked, before Gabriel uttering "Fingerprint. The computer recognized his finger"

Thirteen kids ran out of the room. Laura hugged Newt, some gave five to Michel, Andreas shyly thanked Gabriel, his little sister Raffaela hiding behind him.

"Who's missing?" Michel asked

"Just Helena" Terrence intervened. He looked kind of drowsy, so Selfridge insisted on him to say how many fingers did he see.

Janus, the littlest kid in the room, was still sitting with his back against the wall, eyes closed. Selfridge quickly ducked to him and slapped slightly his face.

"This one will need to be checked up" Selfridge said picking him up "I'm afraid the dose of sedative was too strong for him… as soon as I lay my hands on Hudson I'll… painkiller drugs on children, I wouldn't be so surprised if they gave him the electric chair…"

"He isn't American" Michel replied "He's Irish. The maximum he'll get will be life imprisonment. And anyway, I think that if he dies, he'll never _really_ pay back for what's happened. My father always said that death is a second and jail is a lifetime, so being in the jail 'til you die of old age… well, that's the worst thing. And _by the way_…"

He looked daggers at Selfridge, who turned white.

"You're here for me, right?" Selfridge asked in a resigned voice "I'll tell the judges everything, all right. But now let's mind the boy"

"Janus Potter. His name is Janus Potter" Michel replied

"Okay. Janus. I knew a Robert Potter here, he worked in the biolab… his kid took his blond hair" Selfridge commented cradling Janus

He didn't seem the bad man Tom had imagined listening to his father's tales. He even didn't seem greedy at all. The only thing Tom could see was a man worried for the health of a small boy.

Then he remembered David's words at Iknimaya. About another way a person could learn to See. _Being helped by a little child_.

"We must go back to the Colony, and quickly" Michel said "Annemarie will surely know what to do with Janus. And if she doesn't, the healers will"

"I'll lead the way" Tom said, gesturing to everyone "Come!"

* * *

_(Austin's POV)_

As they went away, Austin looked at the point where Tyler and Helena had vanished.

He could not believe he had failed to save Helena… again.

Beyond the forest, he could see the Hallelujah Mountains: the day in which they had gone on the Rookery to see Peter taming his banshee seemed terribly far, yet it had been only three weeks.

Surely Tyler was not going there: even if, according to Florence, there was an old human base, it could not be reached without a helicopter or something like that. But if the only human base was there, where had Tyler gone?

"Tom, is there something beyond Iknimaya?"

Tom shook his head and chuckled.

"Of course there's _something_ beyond Iknimaya. You know, it's not the end of the world" he said

"I know it's not the end of the world!" Austin replied "I mean, is there a place in which Tyler could hide?"

"Dunno, beyond Iknimaya it's all Tipani territory. I've never been there"

"We could ask Able" Gabriel intervened

"No need to" Selfridge intervened "There were some RDA settlements in Tipani territory, including a training camp for troops. Blue Lagoon, that's how we called it. But it's all abandoned, at least since the Tipani clan defeated Commander Falco's troops"

"Maybe Tyler is there" Austin guessed

"Why are you caring so much for Helena?" Andreas asked him smirking

"Why shouldn't I? She's my friend!"

Raffaela chuckled.

"_Austin is in love, Austin is in love, Austin is in looove!_"

"He's in love?" Selfridge asked passing next to her "Let him be, then. He has all the right to look for his happiness"

"Yeah, and she's got a crush on Walter" Gabriel added pointing at Raffaela

Austin stopped for a moment and looked at the Hallelujah Mountains again. So, according to seven-years-old Raffaela Schopenhauer, he was in love with Helena. Was that really love, what he felt?

He could not stand someone hurting her, he could not stand _losing _her. He wanted her to be there, and to be happy. If that was love, then Raffaela was right.

He was going to reply something when Janus, in Selfridge's arms, stirred and opened his eyes.

"Where are we?" he yawned, moving slightly again

"Don't worry" Newt said walking closer to him, his hand holding Laura's "We're safe. They're taking us _home_"

* * *

_(Norm's POV)_

"So you say he's in an old training camp?" Jake asked Selfridge. He didn't seem to trust him a lot.

"I didn't say _that_. Your kid said that Austin boy there was only the Tipani territory beyond the Hallelujah Mountains" Selfridge replied "Now, the only human base which hasn't been totally destroyed in the Tipani territory is Blue Lagoon. And, as Tyler was going that direction, he probably went there"

They were in Norm's hut, the three of them and Michel. Jake had not called for an assembly for the simple motive that almost all the clan was around, for matters that regarded either the food, guarding the village, and looking after the sedated kids, who still looked kind of drowsy.

"And what is he supposed to do, there, with a eleven-years-old girl?" Norm asked "I don't understand him"

"You weren't in his class for seven years" David said entering the hut. He was in his avatar body, as obvious as it could have been.

"Annemarie may be as watchful as ever, but she shouldn't have made the mistake of letting me stay in a link bed instead of a bunk" he commented. He moved like if he was slightly in pain, but he seemed OK "Well, technically, I never left the bed, so she'll have no point. Don't mind about telling me everything, Norm, _I know_. I heard Annemarie and Serge talking about it"

"What are you planning to do?" Jake asked David

"He surely knows he didn't kill me" David explained pacing back and forth "So he's looking for another way to hurt me. He's got Helena, and he surely knows the very fact he's holding her captive means he can control me just like a puppeteer. He knows I won't dare getting close to him because he could kill her. But he doesn't know… at least I don't think he does… about Able, Peter and the Tipani"

"Have you met Able?" Norm asked

"Yeah, we're setting up a plan" answered David "Now he's gone with Peter, Gabriel and Austin at the Tipani Hometree: they'll explain the situation, and if Tyler has to face the unforeseen… he's ruined. Surely he won't have considered the Tipani Clan, at least not as an enemy: if he knew Peter was my stepson, he would have shot him too, and I don't think he knows a lot about the People, or he would have thought twice before getting our children. If we screw up his plans… well, this time I've got him"

* * *

_**From next chapter "Out of the wood"**_

_**He still remembered […] that evening in which Jake had told him playing computer games because he wasn't needed anymore wasn't exactly the best thing to do. Even if, five minutes later, he had asked for a spare controller.**_

_**He didn't have happy memories about Tyler. Just many and many fiendish pranks that had made them enemies with the whole class.**_


	19. Out of the wood

_**Sorry for keeping you all wait for so long… as my father would say, real life is more important than fanfictions, and in these days I've been quite worried for my best friend… well, anyone would if someone you'd consider a brother ended up dating a… a witch.**_

_**Anyway, I've kept on writing, even now I'm in a small town in the mountains and I'm spending my days monkeying around with my sister, my honoris causa brother and the other kids in the hotel.**_

_**Enjoy!

* * *

**_

Chapter 18

Out of the wood

_(Gabriel's POV)_

That was the first time he was travelling so far, yet the Tipani Hometree didn't seem so different from the Omaticaya one, apart from the fact it was bigger and looked older.

The kids of his age's stares were all on him, at least until Peter chasing them away with a "**What's that stare? They're kids like you!**"

Austin had lowered his cap more than usual, in the gesture Gabriel recognized as embarrass, but as they got in deeper, Able told him to take it off.

"Why?" Austin asked raising a hand to touch it

"Because it's a sign of respect, and we're going to meet Tsahik Sanume"

"But it's a sign of respect _on Earth_"

"Yeah, but I have no doubt about the fact she'll want to see your face"

"_Okay_"

Tsahik Sanume seemed very, really old. Older even than Tom's grandmother. As she looked at Austin, he quickly took his hat off and hold it with both hands.

There also where a middle-aged man with white paint on his body, two teenagers, and an elderly man, who happily greeted Peter as soon as he saw him.

Peter quickly gestured to Gabriel to join him, and said "**Gabriel, this is my grandfather. Grandpa, this is Gabriel**"

Gabriel showed his best smile as he greeted the elder with the three words he had not used when he had met his brother for the first time, but he felt like if a lump of ice was forming in his stomach. _Peter wasn't the same anymore_.

"**You said there was a girl, too**" the teenage boy intervened, before the adult man shouting "**Lungoray!**" and the girl looking daggers at him.

"**What I feared has happened**" Peter said "**The Sky People kidnapped some of the human children living among the Omaticaya. We managed to get back most of them, but my sister is still hold captive by a man called Tylerhudson. He's hiding in these lands. I need your help now: we must find him before he kills Helena. Because… yes, he may be up to harm her**"

The white-painted man shook his head and scowled at Peter.

"**Then it's not a matter of ours!**" he said "**If he's only one he'll bring no harm, soon he'll become food for nantang!**"

Gabriel felt anger rising in him: how could that man not care about his sister? Damn it, two, no, one of them could have easily defeated that Tyler and he said it wasn't a matter of theirs… even if he was a kid, he wanted to get that man and…

"How can't you care for her? She's just a child! And she was born here! In Eywa's light! We ain't no Sky People, BLAST IT!" Austin shouted before Gabriel could say a thing

"Easy, Austin" Able intervened

"No Sky People?" the Lungoray boy asked "Why the clothes then?"

Austin clenched his fists and scowled at Lungoray, then he took his shirt off.

"Happy now?" he asked in a challenging tone

"Not _yet_"

"**Shut up, brother!**" the girl said

"Some people on Earth would say the cowl makes not the monk. This is the case. Austin's mother and father are both skilled healers among the Omaticaya. They saved many lives after the Great Sorrow, as far as I've heard" Able intervened "Lungoray, leave him alone. You should be a man, yet you still behave like a child. You should honor the name you were given, not throw mud on it"

The boy literally snorted and went away. Austin stuck his tongue out at him.

"And you? I expected something more mature from a thirteen-years-old" Able asked

"Ten" Austin replied "And Helena is my best friend. I don't want to lose her. Please… if there is anything you can do, help us, because I couldn't stand her dying. Well I know she's a smart ass and Gabriel's right when he calls her Hermione and she always tells me off when I try to help her out through the forest but…"

"Whoa, and you even say you love her…" Gabriel commented

"That's the point, Gabriel!" Austin nearly shouted

The middle-aged adult looked at them and smirked.

"Up to something, Big B?" Able asked him crossing his arms

"**The boy's sister seems to know her stuff**" Big B said

"**She **_**definitely**_** does, sir**"Gabriel intervened. He tried his politest face and voice: if that Big B man was being moved by Austin's behavior, he would have helped his friend.

The man looked at the girl, who just said: "**There's a man somewhere who is losing his daughter. What if that man, in a different time, in a different situation, was you?**"

The man remained silent. Gabriel wanted to cry. First Mum, now Helena… he knew she was bossy and a smart ass and she beat him up at soccer and… but she was his sister, damn it! She was the one who had dried up his tears the first time Newt had said him he was just a loser. She was the one who always listened to him. She was the one who had always kept a place for him next to her when all the other kids didn't want him near, at school and at mealtimes.

She was the one he couldn't stand when she was angry, because she literally built a wall against the whole world. And the whole world included him too.

She was the one who had been worried for him after that night in which he had seen the real Sky People for the first time.

Now he was worried.

"They already took my Mum, they nearly took my Da, I don't want them to take my sister!" he spat out

The girl came to him and knelt at his level.

"You won't lose anyone else, Gabriel. If my father isn't going to help you, I'll do it"

"Nee'rae!" shouted both Peter and the B man*

"**Peter, remember when you had the sister discussion with Lungoray? Well, now you should repeat your words**" Nee'rae said

"**Yes, but…**"

"**But what?**"

"**That man is crazy. I won't let you do it **_**alone**_"

* * *

_(David's POV)_

Blue Lagoon was a name for a pleasing place, now David couldn't find anything pleasant at all: between rusty fences, abandoned shacks and destroyed turrets, it just looked like a dump, even if the plants had started conquering the zone again after fourteen years of abandon.

He hoped Tyler not to recognize him: the man had never seen his avatar, and, moreover, he was covered in war paint and was wearing a Tipani armor, so that his face would have been hard to see.

Annemarie had said him it was no use to go out in the field, that Peter could easily find Helena and tie Tyler up, but he had gone out anyway. He was the one who knew Tyler, and the only one who could anticipate his moves.

There were three or four of the young hunters Peter had found, including his two friends Nee'rae and Lungoray.

The plan was to create a diversion for Tyler to get out of his hideout: he surely was not going to harm Helena if he was attacked by unknown Na'vi, then the diversion would have turned into a trap and they would capture Tyler and free Helena. But the best thing to do would have been disarm him: without his gun, he was over.

"**Is all clear?**" he asked to the five hunters

"Okay as ever, Da" Peter said grinning

David had to hold back tears as he thought that he never had expected Peter to say such a thing. At least, not when he had hugged the little one who had narrowly escaped the destruction of the old Hometree.

_Twelve damn years, and now he's a man._

"**Let's go, then**" he said

Nee'rae, Lungoray, and the other two hunters rushed forward, disappearing in the greenery. They were going to inspect the ruins until Tyler would not have noticed them: then, as he came out, they would have done anything to lead him away. If he did anything to harm them, they would have killed him.

It wasn't a pleasant thing, planning the death of a person whom David had called friend for seven years, but, if he had arrived at that point, there wasn't anything different that could have saved Helena.

He started hearing explosions, cries and noise: the diversion had begun. It was now. They had to be quick.

"I'll go" Peter said

* * *

_(Peter's POV)_

The only functioning shack was like a fist in the eye. It stood alone, almost like if it was challenging Eywa.

Peter kicked the door open and entered the room. He heard a click, the sound he had learned to recognize as one of the metal bows the Sky People used.

"I knew you would be coming" Tyler said, pointing the gun at him "Did you really think I was alone? There was a soldier with me, a boy who somehow looked like me. And your little friends fell into the trap. You haven't understood it yet. It's David I want. I won't let the kid go until I won't see him dead"

"Over my dead body" Peter snarled

"If you say so…" Tyler said pulling the trigger

Peter waited for the pain. It didn't come. He looked around and saw a hole in the ceiling, Tyler on the ground and Helena over him.

Before he could do anything, the man got Helena's wrist and quickly turned it, then put an exopack on and ran out, menacing Helena with his gun again.

He ran out of the shack, too, to warn his friends and try to save his sister, when he saw Tyler hit by a rock on the head. A child's voice was singing, in English. And Peter could easily recognize the kid.

"Old fat Tyler running under the trees… old fat Tyler can't see me… stop your rush and look for me!"

_Blast you, Austin. Able said you to stay at Hometree!_

Da was right, it was the quiet ones you needed to watch… very probably Thomas wouldn't have done a thing, in Austin's situation. He was too… he wasn't stupid enough for that. He would have planned something safer, something that didn't involve attempted suicide.

There was a bang. Peter stopped and lowered his head. He didn't like noise. That noise in particular. He didn't like that at all. He felt just like if his eardrums were up to shatter.

Tyler shot again, but Austin kept singing, adding even some swearwords in the song. What the… were they doing?

Then, a cracking noise followed one of Tyler's shoots. How many times had he shot? Four? Five?

And overall… _Austin_!

As Tyler vanished, Peter ran to the point where Tyler had been shooting. Nothing was there. Apart from… a tiny, black box. The bullet had reduced it to pieces.

Tyler was running again, but now Peter had to find Austin before him doing anything stupid. Maybe he had been lucky enough to run, but what if he tried it again?

He started looking for the kid. He surely wasn't that far. A kid like him could not run so fast.

Yet… he wasn't around. But what was happening?

That was Austin's voice, sure as Eywa, but where was Austin?

Nowhere around, as it seemed.

Maybe it was time to look for Lungoray and Nee'rae.

"Peter!" Lungoray's voice called from the direction they had gone "**Look what we found!**"

He was holding Gabriel's ear, as another hunter was holding Austin.

"**We found them running from the place you went from**" Nee'rae explained

The younger kid still had in his hands the same black box Peter had seen before, but that was whole, without bullet holes or bullets.

"What is that thing?" he asked Austin

"It's a walkie-talkie. Got it from Santa Claus" Austin explained "You can transmit your voice far away from you…"

"If someone doesn't shoot it" Peter finished "I found another one in pieces"

"Sh…" Austin nearly swore "Is Helena well?"

"At the moment, yeah" Peter answered "She saved my life… jumped over Tyler and deviated his shoot"

"The drugs must have worn off" Gabriel commented "And, if he shot five times when Austin mocked him, sooner or later he'll run out of bullets. If not even now… revolvers just have six bullets. Newt told me it"

"You mean he's harmless now?" Peter asked

"Maybe. I don't know. He could have taken more bullets"

"He didn't. That Selfridge man said me he ran suddenly, he didn't pack a thing. And I doubt that he found anything useful here… the stuff around here is too old!"

* * *

_(Helena's POV)_

Helena had been conscious enough to be aware of what was happening only from a short period: now she just knew she was in a part of the forest she didn't know, that the Tyler man seemed more and more nervous, and that he had nearly killed Peter and… Austin? Where was Austin now?

Tyler had shot him dead or not?

Austin wasn't that stupid to mock someone with a gun… or he was?

No, wait, Austin had two walkie-talkies… what if he had been using them? If he had, he was safe.

She had to run.

She didn't want anyone else to risk because of her. If Austin had broken free from that soldier, why couldn't she?

He was holding her with an arm, just like a… a younger kid. Maybe eleven-years-old children, on Earth, were smaller. Or _weaker_.

And if he underestimated her, it was the time to move. How many times had he shot? Too many, maybe, to shoot again.

Helena waited for Tyler's hand to be closer to her mouth and bit it until she didn't feel the bone under her teeth.

The man cried and hold his bleeding hand, and Helena stepped back. He had let her go. And a cry like that, and the blood, would have attracted viperwolves. Or Na'vi. Well, if that attracted the Na'vi, Helena had a chance. She knew some words, she could have explained that she lived near the Omaticaya Hometree… she just hoped the Na'vi arrived before the viperwolves… _please, Eywa, send someone to save me… please, before Tyler reaches me again._

She ran back where she had come from. And ran. And ran again.

Then she remembered what once Austin had told her.

_If you need a miracle, pray for help. But if the miracle is two steps ahead, help yourself._

If Peter and Austin were nearby, they would have heard her. She just had to call for…

"HELP! **HELP!**"

Her feet started aching. She could not last long… not in that place she didn't know. Maybe, in the forest around the Omaticaya Hometree, she would have found a lonely vine in some lost place that would have allowed her to vanish in the branches, something that would have…

Something seized her T-shirt, and she felt pulled up. That very something pulled her on his shoulder, then climbed higher on the tree.

_A Na'vi._

No, she looked at his hand and saw five fingers.

_No, an avatar driver._

Under her, in the path, Tyler was looking around, his right hand still bleeding. Her savior climbed higher. Helena could see his tail: it formed a very, really _peculiar angle._

Even if the avatar driver's face was covered with a mask and in paint, she would have recognized that crooked tail anywhere.

_Da_.

She hugged his neck, and was about to start crying. But she had not to. Tyler would have heard her.

They sat on a branch. Da threw the mask away and wiped his face clean, then he murmured "Stay there" and started getting down again. Who knew what was he doing. But she was _safe_. At least.

* * *

_(David's POV)_

He jumped again to the ground. If Tyler, as Peter had said, was out of bullets, it was the time for parley.

"Hey, Ty? Don't you think you're a bit too old to play tag?" he asked, raising his voice

The sound of a few steps. Tyler was coming back.

He remembered the first time, in his avatar, in which his life among the Na'vi had made him become more aware of everything around. It had been the day in which he had found out Alicia was pregnant with twins. Or maybe the day after. He didn't remember.

He just remembered himself sitting on a branch, watching the stars. Then, the sound and the vibrations of someone walking on the tree, to which he had answered with a simple "Hello". Then, Jake's glad comment, "You heard me coming".

Jake had really been his friend, just like Serge, Norm, and all the whole lot. Tyler had just been a leech.

David remembered him as a little boy with very short black hair, menacing face and harsh voice. But they had been a team… at least, so he had thought at the age of six.

"As it seems, the savage saved you, _Davey_" Tyler said stepping forward in the pool of light left by the trees "So this is your avatar"

He spoke with envy in his voice. He surely was still angry for that chance he had lost.

"Who knew, maybe if you had _studied_, you would have been here in all these years" David replied "Grace Augustine wasn't looking for cheaters"

"I thought it was clear, Davey. Both or no one" Tyler replied stepping forward again "I was your friend. We stood together"

"Facing the rest of the world" David said in a challenging tone

"Yeah, what's wrong? You seemed to like it. I protected you, Davey. From all the lot who took the piss out of you. Do you remember how they called you? Gullible. Head in the clouds. Four-eyes. All because you stood up to Mr. Raeburn. You were a sucker, Davey, let's be honest. I helped you out and you told me to fuck off just like if nothing had happened!"

"You helped me out? No, man, the boys who really made me who I am respond to different names. Serge Giles and Jake Sully. Ever heard about them?"

Serge and Jake had been his first true friends apart from his siblings, just like Austin and Tom had been for Gabriel.

He still remembered all those afternoons in the basketball court, when Jake had still to get used to walk again. He still remembered the point in which Jake had gotten pissed off and kicked the ball away, and they all had begun to play soccer.

And the first time he had met Serge, at Bernard Kay's house. They both were fourteen, and they had not talked to anyone a lot until they had not found themselves covered in phlegm as another scholarship winner, Norman**, had sneezed over them. The fact still made David laugh after many years.

And that evening in which Jake had told him playing computer games because he wasn't needed anymore wasn't exactly the best thing to do. Even if, five minutes later, he had asked for a spare controller.

He didn't have happy memories about Tyler. Just many and many fiendish pranks that had made them enemies with the whole class.

Tyler had no point in telling all those things, his reply didn't make David flinch a little bit. He was saying something about oafs and imbeciles, and mindless jarheads, but David didn't care too much about that.

"Tyler, we should go back to your base camp. You're bleeding"

"Yeah, say thanks to your daughter for that"

"You don't understand, Ty. The blood will attract beasts like viperwolves! And thanathors! And in these grounds, there have even been Leonopteryx sightings!"

"Oh yeah, Davey, I'm shaking with fear. What's that? A trick? So you can turn me to the FBI? I knew you were a sneak, turning me to the teachers, but the FBI?"

"I'm serious, Tyler"

"Yeah, and I'm Einstein!"

"You're in danger!"

"I would never have been, if you…"

"Tyler…"

"_David_" Tyler spat out "I'm going to finish what I started"

He pulled out his gun. He pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

"Don't halloo till you're out of the wood" David said, smirking "You shouted when Helena bit you, Tyler, and you're bleeding and unarmed. You're going to become food for viperwolves, if you don't trust me now. What the FBI can do is far better than what Pandora can do"

"Leave me alone, David"

David took a step forward. Tyler cried again, it was a cry full of rage. He seemed to be perfectly aware of what he was doing.

He was going to die.

And David wasn't going to let him go away, not like that. He still remembered the harsh-voiced kid, sitting in the desk next to his, saying: _"One day we'll cross the space. First Pandora, and then every star, and every planet in the universe. You'll fly, Davey, and I'll have my adventure"_. They were on Pandora now, but not as they had been planning.

Maybe there had been good in Tyler, but it had all been erased by a dream failed. Tyler had dreamed, like him, but he had done nothing, not himself, to make his dream come true.

"Tyler… please… don't do this"

"I thought you wouldn't be going to give me a damn if I died"

"I'm giving a damn, Tyler, blast you!"

"Too late, nerd" Tyler shouted. He took off his exopack.

The air was quickly killing him, and David found himself running to him. Tyler anticipated him and broke the rebreather using the gun as a hammer.

With his last breaths, he was still murmuring "Too late… too late… too late", just like a broken radio. They looked in each other's eyes, then David uttered "I just wanted to say I forgive you".

Tyler looked at him again, but the rage from his eyes had vanished. There was only sorrow.

Then he fell to the ground, and he stopped breathing.

His eyes were pointed on the sky, but they could not see it.

David knelt and closed them.

"Goodbye, Tyler. You may not have been a good friend, but, wherever you are going…" he uttered "Remember that you had a friend called Davey"

He walked away, then climbed on the tree where he had left Helena.

It was the time to go back home.

To restart a life.

He had to.

For his children, for his friends… for his family.

He had to go on.

And the first thing he was going to do was leave his old life behind.

* * *

_*****__** If you haven't understood yet who he is, he's the Beyda'amo who appears in the Windows and Xbox video game.**_

_**** You don't have to try to guess who he is ^-^ obviously he's good old Norm. The original idea was to put Tommy, but… would you see someone like Tom Sully, spraying phlegm? I wouldn't.

* * *

**_

_**From next chapter "Stay":**_

"_**You betrayer**__**! You've come here with Madam Know-it-all… couldn't you give her a fake trail and come and look for me?"**_

"_**He tried to, but you ain't the only kid who lost his mother, Gabriel. I knew you would have run to the place where she's buried… I had not the chance to do it, when it happened to me"**_


	20. Stay

_**As every year, summer vacation is coming to a close, and tomorrow I'll have to pick up my books again and study European Union Law for the next exam (what it matters with Biotech, I don't know it at all)**_

_**But anyway, this is the last chapter before the epilogue, and I'm at a good point with that, too.**_

_**Yes, I'll write a sequel, too, but I think I'll write a prequel before that (even if most of the kids won't appear, at least not as main characters) which will develop some parts of this fanfiction I mentioned (like, for example, David finding Peter)

* * *

**_

Chapter 19

Stay

_(Alfred's POV)_

They all were there, Gabriel and Helena in the first row, Uncle David behind them, with his arm in a sling and his chest bandaged, and Beatrice and Charlie standing behind.

While, on Alfred's side, there were Danny, Jimmie and Marianne in the first row, him and Edmund behind, then Dad and Uncle William. Grandma and Grandpa had not come, as they were busy preparing their flat for the celebration of New Year's Eve. Then, after Uncle David announcing that he would have left his human body because his left arm would have never fully healed, Beatrice had had her announcement: she was going to stay on Pandora.

"There is a lot to do, in here" she explained "We're discussing with RDA the next action. Mining operations won't restart, but science operations will, so they need a pair of scientists to restart organizing the work. The four of us discussed and we decided me and Diego"

"So Charlie will come back home" Jimmie said

"That's right, little bro" Charlie said grinning "And guess what? We're moving in the USA. The two of us. They offered me a place as a researcher, at Stanford. The wage's very good and they're setting up charts to take you there. In seven months, I'll see you at the space port"

Danny moaned in discomfort. He was getting used to have a coetaneous cousin at his grandparents' house.

"Oh, come on, Danny, why the long face?" Jimmie asked "I can ask Uncle William to let you come in summer"

On the other side, Gabriel chuckled, uttering something like "you never asked me that", and making everyone laugh.

"So, Gabriel, how are things over there? Your friend… Austin?" Alfred asked

"He broke his arm some days ago, but he'll heal" Gabriel explained "Until yesterday he had a splint, now the doctors at the RDA camp used a plaster. I don't really know what's the difference, but now he's staying at the hospital. Also because his parents are… well, hard thing to explain. When I tried to explain it to Charlie he insulted me. But Austin will soon have a little brother or sister. He's overexcited by that. Oh, and another friend of mine, Tom, is going to have a brother or a sister. But he isn't excited at all: he already has a brother and they fight like cat and dog"

"Michael is excited, by the way" Helena replied "He says he just can't wait to have a little brother… someone closer to his age"

"And what if it's a sister?" three-years-old Marianne asked

"It may be" Dad told Marianne picking her up "Let's go now, we have to get ready for New Year's Eve dinner… Grandma and Grandpa will be waiting for us. Alfred, have a shower before changing your clothes, I'll notice it if you smell"

He greeted everyone and switched off the computer. Alfred wasn't sure, but Dad seemed to have the face wet with tears.

"Are you crying Dad?" Marianne asked him

"… Me? No!" Dad said her smiling "Come on, time to go"

Jimmie and Danny rushed to the calendar, and Jimmie took a marker out of his pocket.

"So, if today is the thirty-first of December…" he murmured "Charlie will come back next year in July, or August. Got to tell Grandpa not to enroll me to school next year"

Danny looked at his sneakers and sighed. It was not a pleasant idea for him, Jimmie going away, but he would have gotten used to. Or… well, at least he was supposed to do something!

* * *

_(Gabriel's POV)_

Classes had not restarted yet, because the old Avatar team, the new one, and Selfridge were still discussing about what to do with the operations.

One thing had been clear: no mining. And Selfridge had had to accept it, as he was cornered again. But, as Charlie had explained, Pandora had much more to give than unobtanium. His studies had brought him to a goal: Gabriel could not understand too much of it, but his cousin was going back to Earth to continue his research there, and one day, maybe, he would have come back to apply his researches.

As Norm had said, the fight on Pandora had come to an end. But the war was far from over. Now it had just to be fought on the very place in which it had begun, Earth, and not with weapons: it would have been a battle of ideas.

If Earth was to be saved, it would have been because of her own children. Humans had to fix what they had broken, slowly, but continuously. Everyone had to do its part.

That was why it was so hard.

Gabriel wanted to give a help, as he felt guilty about that, too. Earth was the place his parents had come from, and the place most of his family still lived on.

"Set an example" Diego had just told him "You're a storyteller, aren't you? Tell them a story!"

Yeah, but what story? They were people he didn't know at all… he knew what to tell to the Omaticaya because he had grown to know them, and it was easy recognizing the kid who always asked for Robin Hood or the one who preferred Star Wars (which, by the way, was Adrian).

He would have thought later. Maybe in some months, when everything would have come back as it had been.

Now he was in the Hometree clearing, along with some other kids, waiting for the clan to come back.

That was the night. The night in which Da would have passed through Eywa's eye. Gerald had passed through it the day after Boxing Day, and Serge and Annemarie just the day before.

He felt terribly alone. He missed Austin, who still was at the hospital, along with Adrian, who, according to the RDA doctors, needed some rest and to stay calm.

The same medicine had also been set for Helena, but his twin sister had just refused to get close to the camp, and the doctors had reluctantly agreed to let her stay at the Colony, putting her under Beatrice Martin's watch.

In all the previous years, New Year's Eve had meant staying awake until midnight, playing board games in the canteen, and waiting for the clock's arms to strike twelve.

There was no clock in the clearing, so he would never have known when would 2167 have come.

That seemed to be the worst New Year's Eve of his life. Mum dead. No Austin. No Helena. No Da.

He just was there, in his avatar body, sitting on a swing and looking at his toes. Well, he had nothing better to do.

"Anything wrong?" Tom asked him sitting on the swing next to his

"_Everything_" Gabriel answered kicking the dirt "Austin is at the hospital, Helena can't leave the shack, and Da… well I'm not even sure whether he'll come back. And it's New Year's Eve, blast it!"

"New Year?" Tom said "My dad once said me that, at New Year's Eve, he and his brother made a list of everything had happened in the previous year, and then they made the sum. We could try something like that"

"Well, okay. You start"

* * *

_(David's POV)_

The wound on his shoulder still hurt like hell, even with the doctor's painkillers.

After Tyler's death, some of Selfridge's men had taken him to the RDA camp hospital, and had a surgery on him to take the bullet out.

Annemarie had agreed to that, overall because he needed to get his strength back if he had to pass through Eywa's eye, and a bullet in the shoulder wasn't of help at all. The doctors had even said he was out of danger, but his left shoulder would have never been the same again, as the surgery had been done too late.

He had decided to do it.

He already had postponed it twice, now it was the time.

He laid with his back on the ground, and he knew Peter was just a step further, looking worried at him.

He still remember the first time Peter had assisted to such a rite, when it had been Jake's time. He had been asking all the time "Why this?" and "Why that?", and it had been right _after_ Jake had been moved that he and Mo'at had decided that David would have had to raise Peter as his son.

He felt tired, very tired. He wanted to sleep. He closed his eyes.

Someone was calling his name… but who?

"_David! You fell asleep!"_

_He opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that his shoulder didn't hurt. The second, he was sitting on a desk, and there was a sheet full of crosses under his face._

… _the test?_

"_David!"_

_He raised quickly his head, just to see a middle-aged woman picking up his test and looking in his eyes._

"_Grace!" he said standing up. Then he took a hand at his throat. Then at his face._

_He was wearing glasses. And his voice was a kid's voice._

"_Was it… was it all a dream?" he asked "Jake, Peter, Alicia, the twins… did I really fall asleep?"_

"_If you consider life a dream… maybe yes" Grace told him taking a pen out of her pocket and checking his work_

"_Are you checking it now?" David asked her, sitting down again "How did I go?"_

_Grace hummed a bit._

"_You made some mistakes in the first questions, but the answers 12 and 13 are quite right. And it goes better as the number increases. You left blank the questions from 22 to 28, but I didn't expect you to answer to them. It's all right, you won't be penalized for this. Question 39, I'm afraid it's wrong. And there are slight mistakes, too, in questions 40 and 41, but question 42… I didn't expect you to answer it right. And I think it's the point where you fell asleep… now. You're a clever kid, and I don't want you to waste your chances. Your sister's outside, waiting for you. But if you want to, you can finish the test before you go…"_

"_Can I… really?"_

_But what was all that about? He had not fallen asleep during that test… and where was the whole class? And Tyler? If that was the test day, he would have tried to copy…_

"_What's wrong, David? Cat got your tongue?"

* * *

_

_(Gabriel's POV)_

"And then you came here…" Tom was saying "Then, the whole colony came here, and Norm passed through Eywa's eye, and we met Grace's daughter…"

"Peter went away" Gabriel interrupted him

"But he came back, so we can't put it into the cons"

"Charlie"

"Yeah, Charlie. That's a negative. Lucky he's going away. And by the way… my Dad has found again his lifelong friend. Positive"

"Newton became nice and got rid of his pot belly. Positive"

"Santa Claus. Positive"

They stopped. Gabriel still didn't know Tom as well as he knew Austin or Helena, but he could guess Tom was silent because he knew that Gabriel didn't want to remember _that_.

Then Tom said: "Diego and Beatrice are staying here. I don't really know whether to consider this as positive or negative, as Diego always tried to poison us"

"He stopped, since Austin went sick because of those marsh-mal-whatever" Gabriel commented "So, positive. He surely won't try it again, and Beatrice's OK when she doesn't lord it over me and Helena"

"Hey, guys!" Sora intervened running to them "Do you know what time is it?"

"Of course not, Sorry" Gabriel replied "We have no clock"

"I wasn't asking a question!" Sora said "I mean… I don't want to know the time. I've already got the time, I'm watching my watch"

"Oh yeah? And what time is it?" Tom asked him

"_Thirty seconds to midnight_"

* * *

_(David's POV)_

"_No cat got my tongue, Grace…" David said "But… well, I just wonder where's Tyler. And… Natasha… is she really here?"_

"_She agreed to leave you with your test for some more time, if you want to. And Tyler… he's out here. You can go and talk to them for a while, but don't get out of the class. I'll let them in"_

_She opened the door, and a nineteen-years-old girl and a twelve-years-old boy entered. The boy seemed to be really miserable. He got close to David._

"_You really said you forgive me?" he asked_

"_If that wasn't a dream… yeah, Ty. I forgive you" David said holding out a hand. Tyler shook it.

* * *

_

_(Gabriel's POV)_

"Countdown, guys!" Sora said climbing on a root "Ten… nine… eight… seven… six…"

* * *

_(David's POV)_

_Natasha hugged David. He wanted to say her thank you, but Grace quickly gestured to him: the time was running out. He needed to restart the test before the teachers understanding he had not finished it._

"_Wait, David, get a new pen… that pencil looks terrible, what did you do with it?" Natasha said him handing a bright blue pen_

"_I think I chewed it" David commented checking his pencil and giving it to Natasha_

"_Good luck, little brother" Natasha resolved going out_

_He sat again on __his chair: question 43… it seemed hard, but he had to answer…

* * *

_

_(Gabriel's POV)_

Sora was lowering his fingers, one with every number. They were all shouting the numbers… five seconds to New Year…

"Four… three… two… one…. MIDNIGHT!"

Gabriel didn't know whether it was better to start jumping on the spot and shouting like Sora, or to just sit there and wait for Da to come back.

He forced himself to smile, then he got out of the clearing, away. He wanted to stay alone… at least, for a while.

As the new year was starting, everything was changing, but Gabriel just couldn't say if the changes were for good or for bad.

He would have never seen Mum again. Da had surely changed forever. But, on the other side, he and his family weren't outlaws anymore. Da had faced his past, and had won. He still had his friends.

Yeah, he had more than a reason to be glad. He was still there, still living, still fighting for what was right in the universe.

Maybe it was the time to restart recording his video diary, as he had done as a little boy.

He came back in the Hometree clearing, climbed up in his hammock and counted the skunks to fall asleep.

As he opened the link bed, the first thing he saw was Helena, standing next to the window. There was something in the sky Gabriel had never seen before.

"What's that?" he asked

"Fireworks" Helena explained "They're shooting them at the base camp… it's to celebrate the new year…"

She noticed just then who was there in the room with her.

"Gabriel? Why aren't you outside?" she asked

"Maybe because I didn't feel like being out there…I mean, Da's who knows where, Austin is at the hospital and Adrian too… so I thought that maybe it was time for my video diary"

"If you say so…" Helena said as Gabriel switched on his laptop

_From Gabriel's video diary – January the 1__st__, 2167_

_It's still me, Gabriel John Locke, avatar driver, sixth grade student, and storyteller's apprentice._

_A new year has started, and I think everything will never be the same again. Da should be back in a while… if he'll come back. I really hope so, because apart from my brother and sister and cousins he's the only family I have here, and… well, no, never mind._

_Peter is still at the Tipani settlements… and I think I know why. That Nee'rae girl… he got head over heels in my opinion, and he's my bro, so I should know him. So he's damn in love and he won't care too much about a little brother… stepbrother… in distress._

"Oh, come on Gabriel, he always said brother, and you too, always said so. What's changing now?"

"Everything, Helena. _Everything._ I'm alone again"

_Some of my friends are still at the hospital, Austin in particular… two days ago, anyway, his parents passed through Eywa's eye because his mother's avatar… well I don't know what exactly happened, but Austin's going to have a brother or a sister, and the baby's going to be born… well… Na'vi. Austin told me via Skype he is thinking at names, I hope his parents let him decide._

_He would pass through Eywa's eye, too, but the adults decided he's too young. Well, he's just four months younger than me, so, if they didn't allow me, allowing Austin would have been a paradox._

_Anyway, he'll turn eleven in a few days, so he's looking forward to celebrate. As we all are. We just can't wait for our lives to become normal again__…

* * *

_

_January the 2__nd__, 2167_

_Anyway, Da came back yesterday. When he arrived, Helena and I were sleeping, and Beatrice didn't think it was seemly to wake us up._

_Peter told me that Da stayed for hours outside the shack, looking at our window._

_We're alone in here, now. Austin, Adrian and Laura are at the hospital at the base camp, and Newton is staying with his sister._

_I haven't met him yet, not since he left… last year. I know he is family, but I still need some time to get used to the idea. At least Austin doesn't even have to: his parents are here and he's there… __ well, anyway I miss him. At least, if he was here, I'd have someone to talk to, and I'd accept the facts more easily._

"Why don't you go outside and talk to Thomas?" Helena asked

"Why don't you shut it, _Hermione_?" Gabriel replied sticking his tongue out "If I miss Austin, I have all the right to miss him!"

"Maybe I miss him, too" Helena resolved

Gabriel didn't reply. He remembered what the Selfridge man had said to Austin. _His best friend was in love with his sister_.

That explained his chivalry, even when Helena protested, and his speech to Beyda'amo, and the fact he had sacrificed his walkie-talkies to make Tyler shoot every bullet he had left in his gun.

But… was Helena in love too?

Maybe. Or maybe not.

Only time had the answer. And Helena, of course.

* * *

_January the 3__rd__, 2167_

_Da's been coming here every day, waiting for us to get out and… well, I don't exactly know what._

_I still feel in embarrass._

_Austin hasn't come back yet, but Adrian and Laura have, and of course that meant Newton's here, too. He seems to have found out a way to make his guitar make acceptable sounds… well, he's always had a keen hearing, for music in particular. As I'm talking he's playing an old song called Wind Of Change._

_No, I'm wrong, he just finished it._

"Gabriel?"

"Hm?"

"What's up with your father?"

"Nothing" Gabriel answered keeping his eyes pointed on the screen

"Don't say nothing, cause I went through it" Newt intervened turning his chair to make Gabriel face him "I know what it's like"

"You don't know a thing" Gabriel said turning again "You were one when it happened. I'll turn twelve this year"

"I may not know a thing, but you've been locked up here for three fucking days…"

"Who told you that?"

"Your sister. She said me you linked to your avatar just to eat, and when you were sure no one was around. You're afraid to face your father. You're afraid you've lost him. You're afraid you'll be alone now. And _don't lie_"

Gabriel stayed silent and closed his eyes. He would have covered his ears, too, if Newton was going to speak again. He didn't want to listen. How could a kid younger than him, with no experience, tell him what he had to do?

"You're becoming like I was" Newton resolved punching the wall

Gabriel sat up and looked at him. He had picked up his guitar again, but he wasn't playing it.

Newt left his guitar on his bed and then faced Gabriel again.

"Your father's shaken. That won't help him. You'd better go... if you don't want to do it for yourself, then do it for him"

"Shut it!"

"Thank you… but… listen now. What's wrong with your father?"

"He's not the same anymore… I'll never see him again… at least not the man who raised me"

"Does he still love you?"

"Well, of course he does…"

"Is he still your father?"

"Well…"

"Is he still your siblings' father?"

"If he is _mine_… well of course"

"So nothing changed!" Newton resolved with a grin "My father said me it's all that matters. He may be _just… a bit changed. But he's still the same person_"

Gabriel couldn't find a reply for that. This time, even if he was quoting his own father, Newton Higgins had a damn point.

Looking at that from that point of view, Da had not changed at all.

So, Gabriel's embarrass was… useless. He felt a stupid.

He tried to talk about a different matter… at least, to hide his defeat to Newt.

"How's Austin? When will he get back here?" he asked

"Well, Austin's healing" Newt said "But he's quite down. At least, since his parents have stopped visiting him and bringing him news. You know… he may have a brother next July…"

"A brother? Are they sure it's a boy?"

"Yeah, they had some tests before coming back here five days ago. Then they never came back to the base camp"

"Yep, Newt, that's the point. They _never came back_" Gabriel resolved getting in the link bed

* * *

_(Diego's POV)_

"Still here, David?"

The physicist didn't answer. He just stayed still, with the arms on his knees and his head on his forearms.

Diego sat down next to him and crossed his legs. As he was driving his avatar, they were at the same level, so talking would have been easier.

"Okay, Locke, what's wrong?" Diego asked again "If you stay out here like a soul in torment you won't make your kids get out!"

David hummed something, then raised his head.

"… so?" he asked

"I'm a father, too. I know what to do in these cases" Diego intervened "When a kid is upset, the best thing isn't to look for him… is to make him look for you. You don't have to impose on him, or he'll… well… he may run. And _yeah_, I know it's Gabriel the problem. His Thomas friend said me he hasn't seen him since New Year's Eve"

"So, maybe you know what's the problem, too" David commented

"No, I don't know _that_" Diego replied "But he'll need his friends for this. At his age it's like that"

"You seem to know a lot of things about preteen boys"

"Well, yeah, I collected failures and I thought it was seemly to help someone else not to collect them" Diego said "I had a son… well I still have but… for me it's just like if he is dead. He's called Lucio and he's twenty-five now. God knows what I did for him… and yet, as he turned of age, he ran off never to be seen again. At least until I didn't find out he had hacked all the computers in Hell's Gate and discovered there were about twenty or thirty human children on Pandora. And I decided those kids had to be saved from what had turned my son into what he's now… and so here I am"

David laid his hands on the wooden floor and smiled.

"So I suppose I have to say thanks" he said

"Don't be so certain about it. Maybe if I had not said in my video logs that most of the kids around here would never go to Earth if I asked them to, Tyler would have never kidnapped them"

"He would have done it anyway. His aim was me, or better, the best way to make me first suffer and then die"

"Now don't think about him. Now it's your children you have to mind. And, as I said, the best thing would be keep on living as usual. Restart doing the things you did, so Gabriel will understand nothing has really changed. That's all he needs now… and maybe, as soon as the other kids will return from the hospital, he'll restart living normally, too. All these changes, being alone, and maybe even spending New Year's Eve doing nothing at all, shocked him. He needs time. And help"

* * *

_(Gabriel's POV)_

The Sky Clearing was nearly the same as ever, grass in the middle and five isolated trees.

Apart from a patch of recently dug dirt, there was nothing changed. Yet Alicia Nevares rested under the Tree of Gaia.

In the triangle formed by the three Trees of Silence, there was another patch of recently dug earth.

Yet Gerald Digby, Da, Serge and Annemarie were still alive.

"I knew you would come here, Gabriel"

"_Florence_" Gabriel replied turning to see the young geneticist driving her avatar "You know, Thomas once planned to drench you"

"Hi Gabriel" Tom shyly greeted him appearing behind Florence "We were worried for you. When Adrian told me you had gotten into the link bed, Florence quickly realized you went here"

"You betrayer" Gabriel commented, grinning "You've come here with Madam Know-it-all… couldn't you give her a fake trail and come and look for me?"

"He tried to" Florence said coming forward "But you ain't the only kid who lost his mother, Gabriel. I knew you would have run to the place where she's buried… I had not the chance to do it, when it happened to me"

How could he have been such a stupid… he had forgotten Florence's mother was dead too… how old had been Florence when it had happened?

"I was sixteen" Florence continued, guessing Gabriel's thoughts "She didn't live at home, I had not seen her in a long time… but yet, knowing she would have never come home again, it was horrible…"

She stopped for a moment.

"But I still have my Dad" she then said "At the beginning I didn't know what to do, I was lost… and then I understood that he was as lost as I was. The best thing I could do was help him out, so he could help me. And I'm going back home also because I know he's waiting"

"You're going back… home?" Tom asked, surprised

"Yeah, of course" Florence answered "We should be ready to take off in nine days… Beatrice, Diego and maybe Alan will be staying… you know, Alan seems a hard man, but he… well, he is a big baby. He just likes this place, he just wouldn't admit it"

Tom looked at the ground.

"And what about Michel?" he asked

"He's got a family to look after, he'll go back"

Tom snorted and sat on a root. He didn't seem too happy. Or, to say it right, he seemed on the point of have a temper tantrum.

"But he's got his best friend here… **how can he…** I mean… I never saw Dad that happy, never saw him laughing, joking like that… **he's a different man… if Michel goes away…** blast it blast it blast it!"

"Have you started speaking like your brother?" Florence asked him

"Michel just can't go away like that!" Tom resolved

"Not even your father had to go away like that, when he came here. But he had nothing on Earth and everything to gain if he left" Florence commented "Michel has a son and a daughter who wait for him. You know, sometimes, even if you wish for a friend to be always by your side, your friend has to go. Your father is an adult man… he can overcome this. He'll understand. Now you have to."

Tom grimaced.

"You won't go away, will you, Gabriel?" he asked

"Why should I?"

"Andreas's going away. And Walter too. And their families" Tom explained

"The doctors have found out Walter's got a bone disease" Florence said "That's why he gets hurt so often. He won't reach adult age, not living here. And the Schopenhauers… Bruno's been offered a job by my father, he should train the next avatar team… the kids who will come with the next ship"

"The next _tawsìp_? But… haven't we stopped it?" Tom asked

"The one which was to come with bulldozers and soldiers, yeah" Florence answered "But now they reorganized it. We're continuing research here on Pandora, and we'll have a police corps to prevent bastards like that Tyler to strike. And… Diego is thinking at some way you kids could attend… well, proper school. With all subjects… maybe with a webcam link we could make you attend lessons with qualified teachers"

"If that was so obvious, why didn't Selfridge think about it?" Tom asked playing with his tail "A webcam! If a school on Earth puts a webcam in a class and we put another one in a room…"

"Outsmarted by a twelve-years-old, Parker" Florence commented, even if Selfridge was miles away

"I'm _eleven_" Tom replied

"Whatever, Tom. The thing I meant is that an adult has been outsmarted by a kid who doesn't even attend a… a governmental public school!"

Suddenly, Tom looked sad.

"This means that my school isn't… well… proper?" he asked

"Well, I thought you had guessed it. You'd need graduated professors, and there is…"

"Professor Seneca!" Gabriel guessed

"Professor Seneca could only teach at the college…" Florence said "You'd need junior high teachers… and elementary teachers…"

"Well, I'm a friend of Elizabeth's, but she never came here" Tom commented "The thing is that… if Gabriel goes to the "proper school", and Helena too, and Austin, what about me?"

Florence stayed silent and looked at Gabriel, then at Tom.

"I'll tell Diego" she said going away

Gabriel stayed still for a moment, then…

_Maybe it's time.

* * *

_

_(Jake's POV)_

"So, if we rebuild the old base and place there a bigger biolab…" Charlie was saying "Who's supposed to direct the science operations?"

"As we reorganize everything with what we have, I can do it" Norm intervened "But I can't do anything much, at least from the outside"

They were in the New Colony, some on chairs and some on the floor… or, at least, what was left of the floor now the moss was covering it.

"Point one: break some ceilings and unite floors" Alan commented writing on his iPad "So everyone can stand in there without problems"

Jake chuckled. Alan was doing his best to demonstrate he was worthy to stay on Pandora. He was no scientist, but he had started acting like one. Or at least, he had started helping the scientists.

"And, as soon as I get home, I'll start looking for another botanist to help everyone out. It must be someone in his or her right mind, so nothing will be screwed up" Florence said entering the room "And, about the school, Thomas's had an idea"

"What kind of idea could have a ten-years-old?" Charlie asked slouching on his chair

"A webcam link" Florence spelled out "with a school on Earth. We should only decide which. And by the way, the kid's eleven and going for twelve. _Seventh grade,_ Charlie, write it down. Along with Gabriel, Helena and Austin"

"But…" Charlie protested

"Yeah, I know Austin was born in 2156, but his birthday is in January, he can attend seventh grade"

"That wasn't the _but_, Florence"

"The other but isn't to be discussed. Thomas is eleven, he'll be twelve in October, and he is one of the smartest kids I've ever seen. And as Norm told me, he gets bored at school because _he already knows most of the things_. If he attends a school being sort of a challenge for him, a real challenge, he'll attend it without protesting…"

"And without falling asleep on his desk" a child's voice said

Some turned, just to see Gabriel climbing through the trapdoor and getting up.

"He actually does it, yeah. Just don't tell him I told you it" Gabriel resolved with a coy smile "And I really hope he didn't follow me, he'd murder me if he discovered I sneaked"

Some laughed, including David. As Gabriel noticed his father's presence, he peeped "Hi Da"

David seemed to have understood something: he stood up and left the circle, then he ducked in front of his kid and hugged him.

"I'm sorry" he murmured "I made a mistake, expecting you to accept everything… I should…"

"It's okay" Gabriel said raising his shoulders "Newt already fixed everything"

"Yeah, he always _does listen_ now, doesn't he?"

Gabriel chuckled and shook his head. As it seemed, in a year, his world had turned upside down, and he seemed quite happy about it.

"_I am_ sorry" Gabriel said "I wanted everything to come back as usual, but I didn't understand that everything still was the same even if it didn't seem so at all"

"It's all right, Gabriel. All right. Never mind it… it's the New Year, we can start over…"

"Yeah, why would you call it New Year?" Charlie commented

"Charlie!" David scolded him "Just remember I'm your uncle"

"And I've come of age several years ago"

"Here you count as a kid. You have no banshee" Alan commented

"_You too_"

"Anyway, Da" Gabriel resolved "I decided. When the time to choose will come… I'll be a storyteller"

_From Gabriel John Locke's video diary. January the 3__rd__… again!_

_Who knew it was so easy, fixing everything like that? Well… what's happened just happened, and we can't make everything come back as it was. But now it's just like if something came back to normal. Anyway, not everything. Tom is kind of down because Michel is going away, but maybe he just hasn't understood that both his father and Michel knew this moment would have come… and is coming in a few days._

_Austin called me as I was driving my avatar, so Helena had to literally pull me out. I nearly painted her purple as she interrupted the link… but luckily I was just there, not so far from the trapdoor, so I didn't get in danger. I just heavily swore at her, in Spanish, when I found myself in the link bed. And I pushed her. Before she could say Austin was looking for me._

_Anyway, he's getting better. I'll get to see him as soon as the ship takes off, cause George will be flying his chopper to the base camp, so Tom, Newt and I are going with him._

_As always, night is falling, and as always, Newton is outside, admiring the forest. Some nights he doesn't even get back in the shack, he just goes to sleep in his mother's hut._

_I bet Helena will soon take a leaf from his book… I just couldn't, that would be weird._

_In some time everything should come back as it was: the forest will heal as it did the last time, and it will even take less time. The bad matter, this time, will be our hearts. We can restart living as we did, playing as we did, studying and learning as we did, but we can't forget someone was taken away from us._

_And I'm dead tired… I would just vanish under the blankets and sleep, but I bet Beatrice won't have peace before I eat properly._

_Well, I'd better __dig in my dinner so she leaves me alone._

_Gabriel out.

* * *

_

_(Jake's POV)_

The last time he had seen a calendar (and paid attention to it) had been the 12th of October, in 2155.

He had remembered that day in particular because, not even an hour after Tom was born, Annemarie had insisted for him to go to the old base and let him be checked. Whatever they were looking for, no one had found it, but Annemarie had quickly removed a kind of web between Tom's fourth and fifth finger, and Norm had crossed the day on his computer's calendar.

Norm Spellman had not forgotten that day, not even a year. So he had reminded him every year which day was the twelfth of October.

The date he had spotted now was "Jan 9, 2167". He was in the new RDA base camp, the one which was soon to be dismantled.

As twelve years before at Hell's Gate, the soldiers were all in a group, getting slowly on the ship, closely watched by warriors, scientists… and Michel and Alan, while Lynch closed the group.

As Selfridge passed near him, he uttered something he could recognize as "Thanks". David, who was standing not too far, lowered his gun and smiled.

After him, there were the Dales, the Schopenhauers and two or three more families who had decided to go back to Earth. Some of the children were crying… and they weren't so wrong.

Gabriel, Austin and Tom were looking at the scene from a reasonable distance, and they didn't seem too happy about that. Tom, in particular, just seemed to be on the brink of a temper tantrum.

As Charlie passed near the three of them, he stopped in front of Gabriel and handed him something.

"You need 'em more than I do" he said "By the way, I have my contacts… you can't go around with those goggles"

Then, Florence, too, stopped next to them and hugged Gabriel.

"Be brave… and look after your sister, okay?" she said, following Charlie on the ramp.

Gabriel silently took off his glasses, pocketed them, and put on the ones Charlie had given him.

The big clearing had started getting empty, and only a few people, apart from the ones who weren't up to leave, were still there, and one of them was Michel.

"Last call, Alan" he said stepping on the ramp

"I'm deaf" Alan replied tossing his gun to the ground and kicking off his boots "I'm stayin' here"

He got far from the ship and touched one of the shacks. He was surely staying… and he had proven himself worthy to stay: during all those days, he had done his best to earn the People's respect, and he had succeeded.

Michel walked down the ramp and laid his hands on Alan's shoulders.

"You always said you didn't want to be the third" he commented "Well, now you are. Is that what you want?"

"If being the third means this, it's all right" Alan said grinning "It's really all right… Phantom Pains"

He stayed quiet for a second, then he looked at Jake, then at Michel again.

"Just to be honest, I thought you were going to stay" he said, keeping his voice low

"I have something else to do… _Karate Kid_"

"Hey!"

"You keep calling me names, so I can call you names too!"

"Michel…"

"Yeah?"

"I think your old friend wants to say bye-bye"

Michel seemed to be on the point of a reply, but he stayed quiet and playfully pushed Alan aside.

"So…" he said, getting closer to Jake "… well, got to… go"

He seemed to feel guilty about that… maybe he really did want to stay, but… well, he was bound to Earth as Jake was bound to the People.

"I'd do the same thing, you know" Jake uttered "If I were you"

Well, it was true indeed. But, even like that… he would have missed his lifelong friend…

He really wished that the argument at the hospital had never taken place… maybe… maybe…

But what about… what he had now?

They had both built their lives, in different places and different ways, and now it was time to come back to their responsibilities.

All he wanted to say was "stay", but he knew he could not. As much as he needed his friend to be there, his friend needed to go home.

"No long face, Jolt, this is no farewell" Michel said grinning "Friends and siblings always come back, remember? Tommy said it to us when he left for the college… now it's my time"

He went some more steps up the ramp, then he turned again. He was the only one who still had to climb in.

"And anyway, I still have to pay you back for that kick, up there in the Hallelujah Mountains. Never forget it, Jake, I'm going to make you pay for that"

He got in the shuttle, and the cargo ramp closed itself. The engine started: the ship was taking off.

Another sound, under the buzzing of the engine, could be heard: Tom had started crying.

That was peculiar: Tom had hardly cried when he had been smaller, why was he crying now he was getting close to twelve?

"Hey, what's up now?" Jake asked Tom, ducking at his level

"You… you… didn't… tell… him… to… _stay_!" Tom stuttered hugging him "I thought… you… were… his… friend!"

"I am, Thomas. But sometimes you have to choose between what's right and what's easy. And those times make the difference. If I had not chosen the right thing, thirteen years ago, I would have never had children like you and Michael… I know it's not easy to understand, but have you heard him? People always come back for a true friend, he did it once, he'll do it again. You don't have to worry"

* * *

_**As the epilogue will be a summary of the key facts happening in 2167, I didn't think **__**extracting a sentence from it would have been seemly.**_

_**Anyway, if you listen to the song "Always know where you are" by John Rzeznik, maybe you'll have an idea of what's going to happen.**_

_**And when I'll post the chapter, you'd better listen to that as you read it, as I listened to it as I wrote.**_


	21. Eywa's children

_**I would have uploaded this chapter some days ago, but unfortunately I didn't have the chance.**_

_**A week ago I came home from the usual two weeks in the mountains I spend with my family in August.**_

_**Even if I'm really happy to be back home, I had to restart everything, and everything obviously means karate, acting, and studying, and to cap it all my best friend just decided to come and see us for a while, so I added to "everything" an evening spent watching The Karate Kid, another one at the fast food, and two afternoons spent playing Pokemon Soul Silver with my best friend.**_

_**Last Friday I passed my European Union Law exam, luckily, and you just can't imagine my happiness… it was no easy task!**_

_**Anyway, this chapter has been really hard to write, and I've even rewritten the final part when I noticed it didn't seem O.K. at all.**_

_**Anyway… enjoy it now!

* * *

**_

Chapter 20

Eywa's children

_**JULY 2167**_

_- From Gabriel's diary – __16__th__ of July, 2167_

_It's quite strange, travelling for seven months. Or, at least, it seems to me._

_Now, Charlie and the others should get home in a few days. Maybe they landed even today. Anyway, Danny told me Jimmie is already in the States. He'll wait there for his brother to arrive._

_Elizabeth is excited, too, but you can imagine that. She surely missed her father, and now he's coming back she can't be anything but happy._

_In these seven months, Diego and Beatrice, thanks to Tom's idea, worked our situation out. They say we'll start attending normal classes, getting a video link with a comprehensive institute in the USA. The same school Elizabeth is attending!_

_Well, that is not a coincidence at all, because it was the same school Jake and Michel attended. Diego, and also the Headmaster, I don't remember his surname but I'd better start memorizing it, said it will be better for us all. Also because Tom didn't want to be second to no one and decided he'll be attending school, too._

_He likes the idea of a school being a real challenge for him. I don't know how will I work this out, but in the few weeks Tom and I attended the same classes, I realized I'm more or less at his level, so if he can do it I can do it too._

_Austin will be in our class, too: even if he was born in 2156, his birthday is in January, and so he won't be too young to attend seventh grade anyway._

_So it's going to be the four of us: me, Helena, Tom and Austin.__ The other kids will attend the lower grades.__ Tom's father said him that if he plays hookey NOW, he'll be in serious trouble, as HE asked to go to a different school._

_Life now has restarted its flow, and the humans staying on Pandora are slowly getting used to live here._

_Diego, for example, gets up early every morning and goes to the mountains every day. He's studying the rocks there, as far as I've understood… Da is quite worried about that, he said that he may get in danger. So he taught him to use a bola, just in case a banshee decides to choose him._

_Oh, and talking about banshees, Peter has come back. Or, to be honest, he comes and goes, and sometimes Nee'rae is with him. I heard some of the elders would like him to settle down, but he doesn't seem to give a damn. Da agrees with him, he just keeps saying Peter is still… well, not a kid but still very young._

_Beatrice spends her day looking after us kids. Or trying to. She always says we're a bunch of dodgers. But she's much more calm when Alan's around._

_Alan wanders around every day, but he's grown close to us kids. Diego talked to the Headmaster, and he managed to make him accept Alan as a P.E. teacher for us kids on Pandora._

_I wonder what's P.E., and why Alan can teach us it. I mean, the only thing he can actually do is a kind of fight he calls karate. He seems quite good at it, he said me he got a black belt… even if I don't really know what does this mean. Belts are supposed to keep pants in place… aren't they? If a belt is black, it can't be so much different from the piece of rope I used to keep my pants in place until I didn't get a proper-sized pair._

_In some days should arrive another ship with scientists and all the tools to rebuild the science labs. Anyway, Max could not keep his hands still and, using the lab at the former base camp, has created three avatars, one for Helena, one for Laura… and a third one for Alan. They're still growing, of course, but they're there. He tried to make another one, for Newt, but he refused, saying he can be O.K. on his stilts and that he can't play his guitar if his fingers are too thick. And by the way, he's getting good at it. I think he's attending video classes on the net._

_Austin, meanwhile, has started a blog in which he put all of his photos. He just lost the count of all his subscribers, he's really having a success._

_Me? Well, I'm still under Rafe'ekan's novitiate, but now most of the adults have started talking to me, telling facts, like for example what happened during the Great Sorrow._

_All those facts made me curious, so as soon as I unlink, I open up my laptop and search more news on Wikipedia as Beatrice tries to force me to bed. If Rafe'ekan asked me to, I'd be able to tell a pretty good story._

_September is getting closer, and I just can't wait for the change to come. In the meantime, we're all asking for extra classes from Diego. I mean, he may not be a qualified junior high teacher, but he surely knows what's an equation, and I think we'll need it if we don't want to look ridiculous._

_The old colony has been rebuilt, at least what was possible: we still don't have glass at the windows, but no one gives a damn, and some ceilings have been broken down so anyone can easily stand in there without ducking._

_The days are flowing fast, and I always end up dead tired in the evenings. In fact, I'm dead tired right now. I just think I'll go to bed… Gabriel out.

* * *

_

_(Charlie's POV)_

He remembered an old song talking about a place which would not have felt like home until coming back there after a great adventure.

That was surely one of those places.

As Jimmie ran around showing every different room in their new apartment and telling him about the nice next door girl he had fallen in love with, Charlie could not help thinking something, in the end, had been fixed.

"So you're definitely in love with this… Violet?" he asked his little brother

"Definitely" Jimmie said "And I think she likes me too, when I went out with that T-shirt you brought me she couldn't take her eyes off me!"

"Not too surprised by that" Charlie commented sitting on his sofa "Not all twelve-years-old kids can wander around with an original Avatar Program T-shirt… and not all kids have a brother who's been on Pandora. Just don't use that to be popular at school, or you won't have true friends"

"By the way, Charlie, I've beaten you, I have a girlfriend and you don't!"

"You think so!"

"Well, it's just a week you're here, how could you…? Oh… the geneticist at the space port…"

"The geneticist has a name, and her name is Florence" Charlie explained crossing his arms "And I _didn't_ attract her because I'm in the Avatar Program, 'cause she is too. And you'd better thank her, because she pulled some strings to give me this job"

Jimmie shyly smiled and sat down.

"I'm happy you're back, big bro"

* * *

_(Michel's POV)_

He had not been at his old childhood house since he had left to join the Marines. And his old room still was untouched: the room of a eighteen-years-old boy: posters on the walls, green sheets on the bed, an old laptop computer on the desk and some old toys on the shelves.

The only thing that showed the passing of time was dust, which had turned to grey the desk and the shelves.

Michel picked up a digital photo frame from a shelf and scooped away the dust with a hand. The screen was off.

His memory told him the power button was in the right top corner: as he pressed it, the picture of three first-graders appeared on the screen.

After a handful of seconds, the picture faded, leaving the place to three older kids on a stage. And that was Before the Sun Sets, that old school play. The first time little Jake had played as his brother's stand-in.

In the next picture, Jake and Tommy were dressed in blue and Michel in orange with heavy gloves, and Jake has a soccer ball under a foot.

As the pictures went on, the three kids turned older and older, until the last one, which pictured the three of them in togas and grad caps, holding diplomas.

As the rest of the room, that series of pictures was still the same of twenty-three years before.

Michel pulled out of a pocket his mobile phone and opened the exploring program until he didn't find what he was looking for: the pictures Austin Giles had taken that day at the Hallelujah Mountains. An infra-red connection was enough to move a photo in the digital frame.

Now the last picture depicted him as he was getting up after being kicked in the ass by no one but old Jake Sully, who was laughing like a schoolboy.

Michel switched the photo frame off and put it in his bag. It was time to get home, and find that old frame a new place.

* * *

_(Florence's POV)_

Being home with Dad didn't feel the same anymore.

The journey on Pandora had moved something in her: she felt changed, just like if Charlie's smile, Tom's pranks, or Gabriel's sentence about her being no different from him had pulled a big lever in her heart, a lever which had been covered in rust since her mother had died.

"So it was a nice experience, wasn't it?" Dad asked

She had just finished unpacking, and Dad had just arrived home from the university. As usual, the house was full of photos and molecular models. The lack of a mother figure made itself be seen in the all-present mess: the whole house was full of dirty books, empty TV dinner trays, packets of crisps and junk like that.

Maybe it was time to tidy up. And then, to go to Charlie's and tidy up even there. Two boys in the same house, maybe the flat had already blown up.

"You look silent" Dad commented "Are you thinking about a boy? Maybe about that Charles Martin who's going to start working at the university tomorrow?"

"_Daddy_….!"

"About time too… I kind of was afraid that you'd end up living here with your old Papa" Dad commented "And yours is even a good choice, damn it… a Cambridge graduate, Davey's oldest nephew…"

"It's not an arranged marriage, Dad!"

"Yeah, yeah, but… you know, Davey was almost family when he was here. Remember? Always shy, always in a corner, and you pulling his hair trying to make him leave his books!"

"Or to wake him up when he dozed off in the libraries!"

"Yeah, Davey was a funny boy. Hard to believe he won't come back"

"I've met his children. They're…" Florence had to hold back laughter "Well there's his stepson who got a girlfriend and now goes back and forth and can't decide where to settle down, and there are the twins who should start seventh grade using a webcam link. The boy, Gabriel, is an ass, but he can turn out to be quite sympathetic sometimes"

"You've started talking like your mother, you know?"

That was strange. Dad had not been talking about Mum for… years. Thirteen years, just to specify it.

"I do miss her, you know?" Dad said standing up "But I still have my princess here. And… as long as we have each other, we'll always know your mum is still here with us"

"Even if the princess has found his charming prince?"

"Well… if you say so, I'd expect some more princes on their way in two or three years…"

"Dad…"

"Okay, I'm sorry, don't mind"

* * *

_**AUGUST 2167**_

_(Tom's POV)_

Tom and Michael were sitting on the swings, waiting. Just to be sincere, Michael was swinging back and forth, and he definitely was in high spirits.

"… and he's going to pway with me, and he won't leave me alone like you do! And I'll teach him to pway soccer when he gwows up and you'll have to go awound with Dad and I'll pway with little bwother! Humpff!" Michael said sticking out his tongue

"Oh yeah? And what about _school_, then?" Tom replied stopping Michael's swing "When our brother will be old enough to play with you, you'll have to start school like Janus"

"But Janus is oldew than me!"

"You won't be a small boy forever, you know that, don't you?" said Peter to Michael as he entered the clearing "I was about your age when Gabriel and Helena were born"

"And how was it?" asked Michael starting to swing again

"Well, I was really excited about having a little brother. And then… well, I got quite upset when I found out I could not meet them. But anyway… let's be honest, I only cared about Gabriel at the time, I wanted a playmate"

"Yeah, you threw quite a tantrum" commented David following him

"Well, Peter, you've been lucky, I think" Tom commented jumping down "I mean, you would have ended up like Austin with Antoine!"

Marc-Antoine Giles, better known as Antoine, was Austin's baby brother and half of the clan's PITA as he screamed all night long every night waking up anyone (except for Austin) nearby.

Michael just called him the Howler.

"What were you saying, Tom?" Austin intervened jumping out of a bush, quickly followed by Gabriel. They both were driving their avatars, or, just to be honest, now Austin just didn't get out of the shack if he wasn't driving his avatar.

"Erm… I said that… it's going to be great… having another little brother… like you with your brother Antoine!"

Peter and Michael chuckled, then Peter asked: "And what if it's a girl?"

Tom didn't say nor show anything, but Michael grimaced just like if someone had fed him dirt.

"But I just can't pway with a _tsmuke_!" he protested

Now he had turned four, Michael could tell apart more easily the two languages he spoke, but he still switched them unwittingly when he was thinking at something else.

"Can't you?" Gabriel asked "Well, I can. And she plays soccer better than me, so…"

Austin grinned. Well, half of the clan knew he had a crush on Helena, and the red-haired girl seemed to love him too. Now Helena was going to get an avatar…

"Have I lost something?" Newt asked landing from a vine

"No you haven't, Tarzan" Austin replied

"I ain't no Tarzan, I'm the fifth of the Beatles" Newton said crossing his arms and smirking

"In your dreams, you eardrum breaker!" Austin replied

"Eardrum breaker? I thought Antoine stole my title!"

"Don't say a word about my bro, or I'll…"

"Boys…?" Annemarie asked entering the clearing "What's wrong?"

"Sorry, mama. Newt was running down Antoine"

"Hey, I was kidding. Take it easy" Newton said grinning

He got closer and grinned.

"You're lucky, having a brother. Look at me… I mean… I just have a sister and surely I won't ever even have the chance to hope for another sibling!"

Annemarie closed her eyes and shook her head, murmuring something about kids.

"Newton, you never learn it" Gabriel intervened "You don't need a brother when we all are part of a family. We're Eywa's stepchildren, remember?″

"_Damn wrong, _Gabriel″ Newton replied

"Why?″ Tom intervened

"Peter!″ Newton asked turning "Gabriel is your _brother_, right?″

"_Srane_″

"And his father is your father″

Peter nodded.

"That's the point, Gabe!″ said Newton to Gabriel "If we consider the People as our family...″

"Call me Gabe again and you're dead...″

"We cannot call ourselves "Eywa's _step_children...″ Newt resolved "Because we're Eywa's _children_ as much as the People are″

Peter's jaw dropped, just like Gabriel's, but David and Annemarie smiled.

Yeah, this time Newton Higgins had learned his lesson.

"Anyway, Mama, why are you here?″ Austin asked "Did Diego break his neck because a banshee knocked him down?″

"No, I got a message from Jake″ Annemarie explained "Tom, Michael... congratulations. You've got a beautiful little sister″

"Giwl!″ Michael moaned "Oh, _no!_″

* * *

_From Gabriel's diary - 4th of August, 2167_

_Michael changed his mind almost suddenly when he noticed he didn't need a new brother at all!_

_He just needed his __old__ brother._

_It happened yesterday, as their father was at the common computer to email Michel and their mother was looking after Sylwanin... who by the way is the newcomer._

_As Tom told me, he had said Michael that now it would have been only the two of them for a while, and Michael asked him why. Then Tom said him that it had been the same thing when it had been him. Hearing that, Michael became quite sad: he really had never expected he bothered his brother just for coming to life. So Tom gave him his old slingshot and taught him how to shoot._

_Good thing, but... did they really need a little sister to get along?_

_Well, if Sylwanin really made them act as brothers, there's nothing to tell her but thanks and welcome._

_Gabriel... yaawn ... out

* * *

_

_(Parker's POV)_

As a kid, his father was used to say that law caught the flies and let hornets go free.

It had been like that in the Sully case: Eric Stubbs, the wretch Miles Quaritch had paid to kill the scientist had been found by a Kevin Doyle and jailed, but Quaritch had kept on going around free until a Na'vi priestess had silenced him with two spear-sized arrows._  
__"_The Rat″, the man who actually had subverted the brakes of Charles Martin's car to kill his parents, was in a jail in London, but Tyler Hudson had committed suicide to escape justice when the FBI had reached him.

And now Parker was paying for them.

What was left of RDA could have taken him out of trouble, and maybe assign him a new job in some paradise far away from Pandora or the United Nations, but he had decided to _pay_.

If he had run like the old Parker, that would have meant he had not learned a thing from what he had gone through.

He had let the corporation take him out of trouble the last time, and he had decided not to make the same mistake.

As he had promised to Karloff, he had told _the truth, all the truth and nothing but the truth_. Some of the high RDA leaders had ended up behind the bars for crime against sentient beings and humanity, and they had been replaced by men and women chosen by the United Nations.

A battle had been won, and Parker had had a role in the victory.

Now, he just had to step aside and let others win the war.

His role in the war was over… but he had lost a lot.

Now he could really understand the Jake Sully he had met thirteen years before that adventure, the depressed kid who wanted nothing but something to restart moving.

He had lost the thing he called life, the way he was used to live, fighting for what he believed was right. But, after hitting the proverbial rock bottom, he had climbed up again.

Now _he_ was on the rock bottom. Alone, in a small cell, and far away from the life he had been used to live.

And he still didn't know how to climb, not at the moment.

As he was deep in his thoughts, the door opened.

Karloff.

The former marine artificer from Roswell* – now successful cop.

"I thought you got back in New Mexico" Parker said sitting on his bed

"Got back and returned" Karloff explained raising his shoulders "RDA wants a police corps to make sure no Tyler Hudson sneaks into the next ship. And, as Alan is on Pandora, I'm the only one who could help choosing the boys for the job. In about one or two years we're to send a whole team of scientists on the satellite"

"And you're going with them"

"I'd like to" Karloff explained "But I have a family to lead. Well, the boy's almost independent, but Liz missed me too much… I mean my daughter. It's just like if I had a rope tied to each of my wrist and there are two bodybuilders pulling"

"You're torn" Parker commented "You both need your best friend and your family. And if I still was in the high ranks, I'd let them go with you as soon as you will return to Pandora… because you _will_, right?"

Karloff sighed and sat down. He didn't speak.

"You're the man, Karloff. They'll need someone like you. I mean, you've already a good relationship with the natives, if you took the place at the head of the police team you'd be a leader the Na'vi could trust"

"And what about Alan? He could…?"

"Alan threw his reputation away when he decided to become a coach on Pandora. No one coming from Earth would trust him as a chief. And by the way he's too young"

He could still fight a piece of the battle, if only he could convince Karloff to take the role of the middle man.

"There may be many people on this planet, and many are surely better than me. They could befriend the People a lot faster than I did. And I did it only because…"

"Your best childhood friend is the leader of a tribe. No other man on Earth could say that. You're unique, Karl… _Michel_. They'll need what you are. Believe me, this is not for just for you, or for the scientists' team… if Grace was right, Pandora is a bet. And if unobtanium won't save Earth, maybe something else will. That's the point. That's why you must go back there"

Karloff raised his shoulders, stood up and walked to the door.

The last thing he said before getting out was "Thanks"

* * *

_(Gabriel's POV)_

As every year (or so Gabriel had been said, as it was the first time he attended that celebration) since the defeat of RDA, the clans who had fought in the battle gathered at the Well of Souls to celebrate the victory.

Tom was leading him around, introducing him the other kids he had met during all those years, explaining them who he was.

Gabriel could spot Newton and his guitar not so far, Austin some yards away "playing" with two-months-old Antoine, and Helena and Laura, who were driving their avatars for the first time (as it seemed, Diego had given Max some better growth accelerators).

"Tom! You promised!" Michael intervened holding his brother's ball. As it seemed, he had been following them.

"What?" Gabriel asked Tom

"Bounce!" Michael explained. He was easier to understand now he could say "r".

"Oh…" Tom said grinning "Okay. Look at this"

He got the ball and started bouncing it on his feet, then on his knees.

"Your time now" he said giving the ball to Michael "Remember, don't kick it too strong or you'll lose it"

Michael tried to bounce the ball with a knee, but the ball rolled away. Michael snorted and ran to fetch it back.

As he came back, Tom grinned.

"You can't expect to do it well if you're four and it's your first time. You need to try it again… not now… and become good at it. But now let's just wait for Dad's speech, he's surely up to have it"

Tom had seen well: his father had reached a quite high spot under the tree, a spot from which almost anyone could see him, and a lot of people had noticed it.

The speech was up to begin.

"**Thirteen times the seasons have passed since we drove the Sky People away from our home**" Jake said "**And now they returned, they offered us the only thing they could have given, thirteen years ago, to stop hostilities. They offered us peace, and their apologies.**

**In all these years, we celebrated their defeat, but now this day, from this year, has become more important than ever… because **_**now**_**, we can say some of them have started learning to See.**

**From the place I came from, I often heard that the best victory is the battle you never fight, because it's a victory you can share.**

**Now we can say we can share this victory. We can become a family, us and them, even if with a lot of effort… theirs overall.**

**They promised they won't harm us or Eywa again, and this time I know I can trust them. This time they'****ll listen…**"

"Gabriel!" someone behind him called

Both Gabriel and Tom turned, and the latter jumped on the spot.

"**Rafe'ekan?**" he asked "**What are you doing here?**"

"**This is one of the most stupid questions I have ever heard, young one**" Rafe'ekan answered "**I'm here to celebrate, like everyone else**"

Gabriel gave a little smile to his mentor. Tom had said him Rafe'ekan had never come to the celebration of that day. Never. Ever.

So, as after the usual speech the storytellers of every clan entertained the audience, the Omaticaya had never told a story of theirs during the celebration for the 24th of August.

"**I'm glad you came**" Gabriel commented

"**Well, I've got to officially introduce my apprentice somehow, haven't I?**" he asked "**You've been telling stories only in front of children of your age, and only **_**your**_** fictional stories. You got to tell a true one now. In front of everyone**"

A fist of ice hit Gabriel's stomach. A true story? In front of everyone? He would have turned twelve just the following month, why on… Pandora… did Rafe'ekan want him to do an adult's task?

"**But Rafe'ekan…**" Tom replied before he could say a thing "**Gabriel is shy, he'll never make it in front of thirteen clans, he'll faint before!**"

As Tom was still protesting and Rafe'ekan did not turn a hair, Gabriel's mind was invaded by an idea.

Just Tom, less than one year before, had told him that no one but his parents had told him the story of the war happened the year before his birth because "_Rafe'ekan just says it is not his story to tell_".

It wasn't his. And, as it seemed, it wasn't no one's, because he had not heard that story from anyone.

He had grown to know it piece by piece.

"**I'll do it**" he said stepping forward between his best friend and his master

Tom gasped, and Rafe'ekan grinned.

"But…" Tom said "Are you sure?"

"I'll do it, Tom. Sure as Eywa and family**"

As Jake ended his speech, Rafe'ekan pushed Gabriel forward through the crowd, almost brutally, as Gabriel accelerated to avoid his mentor's hand.

The storytellers were gathering on the dais-like spot where Jake had had his speech, discussing on who would have been the first.

"**The boy will start!**" Rafe'ekan almost shouted letting Gabriel enter the circle "**He's my apprentice. He'll tell the first story**"

Gabriel nodded. The other storytellers were all adult, so it was rather embarrassing standing in front of them all.

Anyway, they all stepped back, leaving Gabriel and Rafe'ekan alone. Then, after introducing Gabriel to the audience, Rafe'ekan, too, left Gabriel alone.

It was his moment. Now… or never.

"So…** it all happened thirteen years ago.**

**There was a boy, a young warrior, who left his home to fight a war in which he did not believe. His family was no more: he had lost his last relative, his brother, just some days before leaving, and now he was there in his brother's place.**

**As he got lost in the forest and night was falling…**"

He had everyone's looks on him, but he kept on speaking, stopping only to take a deep breath when he needed it.

He could already imagine Newt's pat on his back, Austin's and Tom's congratulations, Da's hug, Helena's "you could have done better", but that wasn't the time and place to think at that.

He was the only one speaking, and everyone else stayed silent, apart from the youngest kids who asked something to older people or the babies squeaking.

Even if he was speaking out loud, he could hear his heart beating: the sound just filled his ears.

His face and ears felt hot, and his hands wet. But he kept on telling the story.

Rafe'ekan had taken place not so far, and he looked pleased at him.

Even if the story was about Jake, that was his moment.

He was the first storyteller to tell that story.

"… **and that night of thirteen years ago, as the warrior cut his bonds with his past, something important happened… we all became a family, a single family, as we can see when we all stand together and see how much we have changed in all this time… we can say we are parents and children, brothers and sisters. As a friend of mine said not so much time ago, we're all Eywa's children**"

* * *

_*** Asking yourselves why Roswell? Let me explain. Michel has been living in Roswell since he was a child (his children attend his same school), **__**and so have the Sully twins**__**. Roswell is famous for those "alien rumors", so I thought it would have been a proper place to grow up for a kid (like Tommy) who wants to be thrown into space to look for answers… okay, okay, I'm barking!**_

_**** I just needed something to set against death and taxes!

* * *

**_

_**Aaand it's done!**_

_**I've already written a stub of the first chapter of my next Avatar fanfiction, "Eywa's stepchildren – Crossing the shadow line", set two years after this, but I don't think I'll seriously start writing something before I finish translating THIS in Italian and/or pass the Applied Statistics exam.**_

_**Anyway, I've got something to say.**_

_**FIRST, irayo to Bigoldfrog, Snoofman21, TopKat90, vanSnyder, Chocochino11, mysterious and Codeless Enigma who left their opinion as I wrote.**_

_**SECOND, irayo to Avataraddicted, Chocochino11 (yes, again!), daydreamer727, ElSmokeyBearo, Eltungawng, Fate Nomad, I-dont-like-pen-names, Janomaru and Life4DemiMeg for putting this story among the ones they like most**_

_**THIRD and last but not the least, thanks to **__**Chocochino11, Codeless Enigma, daydreamer727, dragonrider101, Eltungawng, HPobssesed1234567, Janomaru, Thaena, vanSnyder, whatisee, and Whiteling for being there, ready to read this story

* * *

**_

_**Now, this is for you all, even all the readers who never left a sign for me to appreciate.**_

_**From the next story: "Eywa's stepchildren – Crossing the Shadow Line"**_

_**Alfred took a seat next to Owen and put his duffel bag on the ground. The dark-haired FBI man paced back and forth, and, after he had made sure everyone had found a place on the benches, started speaking.**_

"_**I want to clarify a thing, before everything else you'd need to know about Pandora: this is not home. Here, the mistakes you make could cost your life.**_

_**I wasn't here at the times in which some people were talking about war, but now… we're here to prevent another one.**_

_**This place may not be home for you, and the People may not be family, but if you try… no, if you do act with the needed respect, you'll find out this place can become home.**_

_**Now, there are three important rules you need to know if you want your stay here to be a pleasant one.**_

_**Rule number one: don't say anything offensive to the People, to the scientists or to the human kids who were born here. Or to anyone in general, as offensive stuff is offensive for anyone.**_

_**Rule number two: help each other. And help even the Na'vi if they ask you to. Cooperation, here, is the key. The man you're helping today could save your ass tomorrow, even if he doesn't speak English at all.**_

_**Rule number three: here we're guests. You may have heard the guest is holy, but you surely have also heard that when you go to Rome, you do as the Romans do. Well we're not in Rome, we're on Pandora, but the matter is the same. A single mistake could cost your life: the forest is hostile against the ones who violate it."**_

_**

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_**Thank you all for coming with me through this adventure on Pandora!**_

_**Volpe1990 (a.k.a. Marina)  
**_


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